Indian Envoy to UN TS Trimurti reassures UNGA President to support 'Presidency of Hope'

On Friday, October 1, TS Trimurti, India's Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United Nations, met with President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Abdulla Shahid, and reassured India's support to the 'Presidency of Hope.' "It was good to meet with Permanent Representative of #India to the UN H.E. Tirumurti. Reassured of India's support to the #PresidencyOfHope. Look forward to working together during #UNGA76[sic]," wrote Shahid on Twitter. He has been campaigning the 'Presidency of Hope' narrative since being elected as the President of the 76th UNGA session. During Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla's visit to the Maldives in November 2020, India backed the island nation for the chair of the 76th United Nations General Assembly, according to ANI. 

Last week, Shahid commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his unwavering support for the 'Presidency of Hope,' saying that India is totally committed to multilateralism and the UN. In an interview with the UN News, Shahid had stated that hope is desperately needed for billions of people battling around the world with the COVID-19 pandemic and other devastations, and the General Assembly, as the UN's representative body, is best positioned to give substance to that hope. He went on to say that he will "never give up hope that mankind would rise to the occasion" on challenges like climate change and equitable access to COVID. He intends to lead by example to assist the UN to achieve the "gold standard" on subjects like gender equality and also emphasised the value of multilateral collaboration and the notion that global crises necessitate coordinated global action, according to the UN News.    

UNGA President emphasises addressing global crisis with coordinated global action

In his closing addressing to the 76th UNGA session, he claimed that 194 speakers, including 100 heads of state gave their views on the renowned green marble podium. "I hope you are as heartened as I am by the strong showing of our return to in-person diplomacy," said the Assembly President, who was pleased to see the UN's corridors and cafeterias packed with discourse, debate, laughter, and compromise once more. He did point out, however, that just 18 of the 194 speakers this year were women, implying that more needed to be done to equalise the balances, reported UN News. He also asserted that the UN must address concerns like COVID-19, climate change, peace, security, and instability risks. He went on to say that each of these concerns is so prominent and there is no time for complacency as the world is calling for more actions, according to the UN News. 

(Image: @AbdullaShahid/Twitter)