New York [US], September 14 (ANI): India will do its best to promote South-South cooperation, which has become even more important at present because of the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj has said at an event.
Ambassador Kamboj was speaking at a joint side event hosted by UN Political and Peacebuilding and UN Development Programme on South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Peace and Development at the ‘Global South-South Development Expo’.
“South-South and Triangular Cooperation is the right thing to do, working for development is the right thing to do, and this is the small contribution that India, with its commitment to multilateralism and South-South Cooperation is venturing to support at the UN,” she said.
“The Covid pandemic has tested the resilience of multilateral institutions, and the Global South has been largely fending for itself. Realizing that the Global South has been mostly left to fend for itself during the pandemic, South-South Cooperation has become even more crucial. India is and will continue to do its best in furthering this,” the Permanent Representative to the UN said.
Kamboj highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a “One Earth One Health” approach underlines our continuing commitment to the Global South, already evident in the supply of more than 240 million vaccine doses to over 100 countries. “The motto of the Government of India, ‘Together, for everyone’s growth, with everyone’s trust and effort,’ resonates with the core SDG principle of leaving no one behind,” she said.
She also said that India has completed administering over 2 billion vaccine doses. “We have offered indigenously developed COVID-19 mitigation technologies, solutions and products which are affordable, effective and safe. At a Global Co-WIN conclave held in July last year, India has offered its vaccine delivery Co-WIN platform as open-source software to interested countries,” the Permanent Representative to the UN said.
Kamboj also mentioned India’s advocacy of introducing new and advanced technology in Peacekeeping Missions to overcome security and mandate implementation challenges is noteworthy.
Speaking about Indian Peacekeeping Missions, Kamboj said: “In 2021, under our presidency of the Security Council and at a cost of US$ 1.6 million, India had supported the rolling out of the UNITE AWARE Platform aimed at enhancing the safety and security of peacekeepers and had signed an MOU with the UN Academy for Peace Operations in Entebbe, Uganda, to meet its training and technology needs. “
She also highlighted the role of women peacekeepers cannot be over-emphasized in effective peacekeeping.
Kamboj underscored the importance of the India UN Development Partnership Fund, a “very unique initiative” helmed by India in the context of South-South cooperation.
Launched in 2017 with a value of USD 150 million, it supports South-owned and South-led sustainable development projects focusing on Least Developed Countries (LDCs), LLDCS (Landlocked Developing Countries) and SIDS (Small Island Developing States).
India’s approach will continue to be human-centric, based on mutual respect and national ownership principles, with a commitment to sustainable development for all. (ANI)