Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian PM to head the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on August 9. The meeting was held through video-conferencing and was attended by two presidents, of Russia and Kenya, two prime ministers, of India and Vietnam, and 10 ministers, seven of whom were foreign ministers -- a high level of participation for a UNSC meeting.

India assumed the presidency of the high-level United Nations body in August. The presidency term will be for one month before India hands over the presidency to Ireland. Apart from the permanent members, India, Tunisia, Vietnam, Estonia, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Norway, and Niger are the non-permanent members of the UNSC currently, with membership terms ending on December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2022. India, which has been advocating for a permanent seat at the UNSC, started its eighth term as a non-permanent member of the UNSC on January 1.

What happened in the meeting?

PM Modi opened the debate on maritime security. The UNSC debate was titled 'Enhancing Maritime Security -- A Case for International Cooperation.'

"The oceans have played an important part in India's history right from the time of the Indus Valley civilisation. Based on our civilizational ethos that sees the seas as an enabler of shared peace and prosperity, Prime Minister Modi put forward the vision of SAGAR - an acronym for 'Security and Growth for all in the Region' in 2015," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

While the meeting was tense due to China’s blatantly illegal activities in the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), an international treaty that lays out the conventional maritime law, it did result in the adoption of a presidential statement. The presidential statement was the first-ever statement by the UNSC on matters of maritime security.

"India's negotiators deserved credit to be able to find language acceptable to all, without dropping a reference to UNCLOS. It reaffirmed India's bridging role in the UNSC,” reported ANI, quoting sources.

The statement laid out the importance of enhancing international and regional cooperation to promote maritime security with mutual aid required to stop maritime crimes like piracy and human trafficking. India’s role as a key security provider in the Indian Ocean was reiterated.

India’s other agenda

With issues of maritime security having been discussed, India will be focusing on other parts of its three-part agenda during the presidency. While talks have already taken place on Afghanistan’s rapidly deteriorating situation, India will bring forth the agenda of counter-terrorism as well.

New Delhi's Permanent Representative to the UN and President of the Security Council this month, Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti said, "We want to keep the spotlight on terrorism. Terrorists have become more sophisticated and financing of terror is a major issue; India and France even have a side event to discuss the same. A point of concern is the increase in terrorism in Africa. There are proscribed terrorists who have linkages."

Apart from counter-terrorism, India will be chairing a debate on 'Technology and Peacekeeping' and will also have on its agenda Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, and the Middle East."

"I have not come to the place where India is going to send peacekeeping forces to Afghanistan. There can be no unilateral decision on peace in Afghanistan. All stakeholders have to be consulted. I cannot comment on the sovereign decision of the US to withdraw troops from Afghanistan," Ambassador Tirumurti said.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Aug 11, 2021 8:03 PM IST