Month: October 2021

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said this in his statement on the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons at the 76th UN General Assembly…reports Asian Lite News

India is committed to the goal of “universal, non-discriminatory, and verifiable nuclear disarmament”, leading to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, consistent with the highest priority accorded to nuclear disarmament by the Final Document of the First Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament (SSOD-1).

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said this in his statement on the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons at the 76th UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

India, as a responsible nuclear weapon State, has a nuclear doctrine outlining credible minimum deterrence with the posture of no-first use and non-use against non-nuclear weapon States, he added.

India believes that the goal of nuclear disarmament can be achieved through a step-by-step process, underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed multilateral framework that is global and non-discriminatory, Shringla, further added.

“India’s approach is outlined in our Working Paper submitted to the UNGA First Committee in 2006 and to the Conference on Disarmament in 2007, which has an enduring relevance,” the Foreign Secretary reiterated.

He added India’s annual resolution in the UN General Assembly on the “Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons” tabled since 1982 enjoys wide support of the membership and calls on the Conference on Disarmament to commence negotiations in order to reach agreement on an international convention prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances.

Another UNGA resolution tabled annually by India for the past two decades on ‘Reducing Nuclear Danger’ underlines the grave dangers posed by unintentional or accidental use of nuclear weapons and the need to take steps to address it, the Foreign Secretary said.

As the world’s sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, the Conference on Disarmament is well placed to commence negotiations on a Comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention.

Without diminishing the priority that we attach to disarmament, India has supported the immediate commencement of negotiations in the CD on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) on the basis of CD/1299 and the mandate contained therein, which remains the most suitable basis for negotiations.

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Discussions were held on furthering South-South Cooperation with outlining of next steps …reports Asian Lite News

The inaugural meeting of development cooperation agencies of India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) partner countries was held on Wednesday under the ongoing chairship of India.

Discussions were held on furthering South-South Cooperation with outlining of next steps, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter.

IBSA is a unique Forum which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three different continents, facing similar challenges.

The grouping was formalized and named the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia on June 6, 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.

Five IBSA Leadership Summits have been held so far. The 5th IBSA Summit was held in 2011 in Pretoria.

IBSA’s success demonstrates, most vividly, the desirability and feasibility of South-South cooperation beyond the conventional areas of exchange of experts and training.

India as the current IBSA Chair has planned to convene the 6th IBSA summit under the theme ‘Democracy for Demography and Development’ in 2021.

Last month, the Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh inaugurated the 7th IBSA Academic Forum which was held virtually on August 11-12.

The two-day event was hosted by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), an autonomous think-tank of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

It featured a conversation with IBSA Sherpas on economic partnerships that will, among other things, help economic integration and cooperation in creating resilient value chains post-Pandemic, accelerate the digital and green transition processes. (India News Network)

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During the meeting, both sides also agreed to take forward their trade relations and people-to-people contacts. …reports Asian Lite News

Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi, on Thursday addressed the members of the international community in Geneva on 75 years of India’s Independence and attended a cultural event.

Maintaining about this development, she tweeted: “Glad to address the members of international community in Geneva on 75 years of India’s independence #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav and attended cultural event – splendid saga of Indian sarees and ICCR sponsored Khadi Tapestry Exhibition.”

Earlier on Wednesday, MoS Lekhi called on President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin at Federal Palace in Bern and discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations.

During the meeting, both sides also agreed to take forward their trade relations and people-to-people contacts.

“Honoured to call on Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation at Federal Palace, Bern. Had a productive meeting, we discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and agreed to take forward our strong trade relations and people to people contacts, MoS Lekhi tweeted.

On Tuesday, she attended the inaugural Impact Finance Conference organized by Neue Zurcher Zeitung. Speaking on the theme of sustainability and climate change at the event, she said despite having the lowest per-capita carbon emission in the world, India has agreed to reduce the carbon intensity by 33-35 percent of its GDP.

She said India has agreed to increase the share of non-fossil fuel energy sources in its power generation capacity to at least 40 percent.

The MoS for External Affairs also said that India has decided to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Co2 equivalent by 2030. To this commitment, the government, she said, has supplied 1.2 billion energy efficient LED Lamps and 3.2 million LED streetlights.

She said attempts are being made to turn India into the world’s largest Green Hydrogen Hub. “India is among the top 5 countries whose actions are on track to keep global warming below the 2 degree Celsius target. We are walking the talk on our commitments related to climate change,” the MoS said in her address at the event.

She said despite development challenges, India has taken many bold steps on clean energy, energy efficiency, afforestation and bio-diversity.

India’s focus is also on cutting the energy consumption and efficient management of energy produced.

“We have also encouraged global initiatives like International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. 80 countries have joined the International Solar Alliance, making it one of the fastest growing international organisations anywhere,” she said.

During her visit to Switzerland, the MoS External Affairs also got an opportunity to meet women parliamentarians, secretaries and exchanged views on women empowerment and shared major achievements of India towards empowerment of women.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the visit of the MoS will help in sustaining the momentum in bilateral ties between the two countries. (India News Network)

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