Prime Minister meets Mr Mogens Lykketoft, President-elect of the UN General Assembly

[Hindustani78]

Prime Minister's Office
31-August, 2015 19:05 IST
Prime Minister meets Mr Mogens Lykketoft, President-elect of the UN General Assembly


Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today received Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, President-elect of the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Prime Minister congratulated Mr. Lykketoft on his election as the President of the landmark 70th Session of the UN General Assembly which would begin with the UN Summit for the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Prime Minister said that he was looking forward to participating in the Summit on 25 September 2015. He noted that many of the Sustainable Development Goals, which form the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, were already being implemented through flagship programmes of Government of India, such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Smart Cities and Jan Dhan Yojna.

Prime Minister emphasised that the 70th Session of the UNGA was a crucial moment for the UN. It would be important to ensure that the UN meets the high expectations of the people. In this regard, Prime Minister called for securing concrete outcome on the long-pending issue of reform of the UN Security Council, and strengthening the legal framework to combat terrorism through early finalization of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

Mr. Lykketoft briefed Prime Minister on his priorities for the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly. In this regard, he specifically mentioned his priorities as renewing global partnerships for implementation of SDGs; climate change issues; improving the effectiveness of the UN contributions to international peace and security; and improved response to humanitarian situations.

Mr. Lykketoft acknowledged that India, as one of the largest democracies in the world, and one of the biggest contributor to the UN Peacekeeping Operations should have greater role in the decision making bodies at the UN. Prime Minister reiterated India’s commitment to continue supporting the UN peacekeeping operations.

Both exchanged views on the issues related to Climate Change and, in this context, expressed hope that the COP-21 Conference in Paris would come up with productive outcome to the satisfaction of the developing countries.

****

 

[Hindustani78]

The President-elect of UN General Assembly, Mr. Mogens Lykketoft calling on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on August 31, 2015.

 

[Optimos Prime IA]

Naice

 

[Hindustani78]

Updated: August 31, 2015 04:38 IST
UNGA president-elect sounds ‘positive’ in talks with Sushma - The Hindu

Meeting comes ahead of key U.N. decision on Security Council expansion.
As India’s hopes for the U.N. Security Council expansion process hinge on a vote at the United Nations in the next fortnight, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met with the incoming president of the U.N. General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft here on Sunday.

The UNGA is required to take a decision to “roll over” the text that contains positions of all countries on the U.N. reform and inducting permanent members into the U.N. Security Council, as India and other countries have demanded. The text for the U.N. reform that has been circulated by the outgoing UNGA president Sam Kutesa, will lapse on September 15, and diplomats at the U.N. are already hard at work to push the decision through “between September 10 and 15.”

Mr. Lykketoft will take charge as UNGA President on September 16 only after that vote or decision is taken to adopt the text. But if it is cleared, as India is confident it will be, he will be responsible for squaring the U.N. reform process in the U.N.’s 70th year, along with an Inter-Governmental Panel (IGN). According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Ms. Swaraj “conveyed India’s expectations to achieve concrete forward movement under the presidency of Mr. Lykketoft on the U.N. Security Council reform negotiations as well as finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.”

To meet Modi
While officials said Mr. Lykketoft’s visit is part of a “tradition” to invite the new UNGA presidents before they assume office, the timing of the visit, with just days to go for the UNGA decision is seen as part of India’s push for the U.N. reform. On Monday Mr. Lykketoft will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in a recent conference for Pacific islanders advocated a time-bound process to “quickly adopt the draft presented by the president of the General Assembly as the negotiating text and conclude negotiations during the 70th session of the General Assembly.”

Last month, the government had been taken aback by letters from the U.S., Russia and China that were circulated by UNGA president Sam Kutesa, that didn’t explicitly support India’s case for a permanent Security Council seat, as other countries had. While U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma and Russian President Sergei Ivanov have since clarified that they continue to support India’s claim, China has made no clear statement on its plan, leaving diplomats apprehensive that China could still oppose or try to scuttle the process. A senior official told The Hindu, Mr. Lykketoft was “extremely positive” in talks with Ms. Swaraj about India’s hopes for the U.N. reform process, but “wouldn’t give a firm assurance” yet.

Peacekeeping operations
Apart from the U.N. reform and the Convention on Terrorism (CCIT), senior officials said Ms. Swaraj took up India’s case for a greater role in planning U.N. Peacekeeping operations, given its large contribution to the forces. Ms. Swaraj and Mr. Lykketoft also discussed the upcoming Climate Change COP21 summit in Paris, as well as the 10th year Cyber Review of the WSIS (World Summit for the Information Society), both of which will be held in December.

(With inputs from Smriti Kak Ramachandran)