Humanity’s future doesn’t lie on the battlefield: PM Modi at UN summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the “success of humanity lies in our collective strength, not on the battlefield”. He was addressing the UN Summit of the Future held against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Speaking in Hindi, Modi said he was representing 140 crore people or one-sixth of humanity. He stressed the need for having a human-centric approach. “When we are discussing global future, we must accord the highest priority to a human-centric approach. While prioritising sustainable development, we must ensure welfare, food and health security,” he said.

Holds talks with Nepalese PM

• On the sidelines of a United Nations meet in New York, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli
• “The India-Nepal friendship is very robust… Our talks focused on issues such as energy, technology and trade,” Modi said in a post on X
• Modi also met Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah. This was the first meeting between the PM and the Crown Prince of Kuwait

He mentioned how India had lifted 25 crore citizens out of poverty, saying that the country had demonstrated that sustainable development could be a success. “We are ready to share this success with the entire Global South community,” said Modi.

In August, India had hosted the third Global South summit in the digital format, which was attended by 129 countries.

While briefing about the proceedings of the summit then, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said, “As we go to New York to attend the UN General Assembly summit, we feel much more confident about seeking reforms in UN bodies. It is more like solidarity of countries (of Global South) with similar thoughts”. Jaishankar will address the UNGA later this week.

In New York today, Modi also stressed the need for reforms in global institutions, saying “reforms were essential and the key to relevance”. India has been seeking an expansion of the UN Security Council with a permanent seat for itself. The PM said while terrorism continued to be a threat to peace, new theatres of conflict were emerging in the cyber and maritime domains. The PM laid stress on global digital governance to ensure national integrity and sovereignty.