'To Fight Covid-19, India Extended Assistance To 150 Countries': PM At UN Economic & Social Council Session

"The first President of ECOSOC was an Indian. India also contributed to shaping the ECOSOC agenda including the sustainable development goals," PM Modi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering keynote address at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meet.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday delivered a keynote address at the United Nations during a high-level segment of its Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York. In his virtual keynote address, PM Modi said from the very beginning, India has supported the UN’s developmental work and the ECOSOC. ALSO READ | Pilot Vs Gehlot: Rajasthan HC Directs Speaker Not To Take Action Against Rebel MLAs Till Tuesday Evening "The first President of ECOSOC was an Indian. India also contributed to shaping the ECOSOC agenda including the sustainable development goals," PM Modi said, in his first ever keynote address in United Nations since India was elected as a non-permanent member of the powerful Security Council in June.

From the very beginning, India has supported the UN’s developmental work and the ECOSOC. The first President of ECOSOC was an Indian. India also contributed to shaping the ECOSOC agenda including the sustainable development goals: PM @narendramodi

— BJP LIVE (@BJPLive) July 17, 2020

"India was among the 50 founding members of the UN immediately after the 2nd World War. A lot has changed since then. Today, the UN brings together 193 member countries," PM Modi said. "Today, through our domestic efforts, we're again playing a salient role in achieving 'Agenda 2030' and the sustainable development goals. We're also assisting other developing countries in meeting their sustainable development goals," the Prime Minister said further.

In our joint fight against COVID, we've provided medical and other assistance to over 150 countries. We also helped create a SAARC COVID Emergency Fund in our region: PM @narendramodi

— BJP LIVE (@BJPLive) July 17, 2020

"Thus, we have taken a holistic approach by engaging our states, our local governments, our civil societies, communities and our people. Our motto is Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas," he said further. PM, during his speech, also noted that India is home to 1/6th of the world's humanity. He said that India is mindful of responsibility. "We know that if India succeeds in achieving its developmental objectives, it will go a long way in achievement of global goals," he said.

However, multilaterism needs to represent the reality of the contemporary world. Only reform-multilaterism with a reformed-UN as its centre can meet the aspirations of humanity: PM @narendramodi

— BJP LIVE (@BJPLive) July 17, 2020

"Last year, we celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi by achieving full sanitation coverage in our 600,000 villages. In 5 years, we built over 10 crore toilets which improved our rural sanitation cover from 38% to 100%," he said. Further speaking about the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, PM Modi said that pandemic has severely tested the resilience of all nations. "In India, we have tried to make the fight against the pandemic a people's movement, by combining the efforts of Government and civil society," he added. WATCH | PM Modi's Keynote Address At The United Nations Economic & Social Council