On the day that India assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the month of August, one of the strongest endorsements for India's global leadership came from Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek ambassador to India, Dilshod Akhatov said that his country supports India's candidature for a permanent position to the UNSC. In an interview to the Indian news agency ANI, he said: "India is one of the biggest members of the United Nations. Of course, it plays a really big role in Southeast Asia. India's non-permanent membership tenure will be an important event for the world community for such a key body for the United Nations".
He added: "Generally, Uzbekistan supports Indian candidature to obtain the status of a permanent member of the UNSC…"
Akhatov highlighted the Indian role in counter-terrorism and in resolving Afghan issues—both of which are important for Uzbekistan which shares a boundary with Afghanistan.
India and Uzbekistan share similar sentiments on Afghanistan. It also is a proponent of the Afghan-owned, Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled peace process once US withdraws completely from the conflict-ridden country.
France and Russia also hailed India assuming the leadership position in the all-important UNSC.
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations—TS Tirumurti had on Friday, given an insight into New Delhi's agenda. Tirumurti had said that India will organise signature events in three key areas—maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism.
Tirumurti added: "Further, as a country that has been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism, we will continue to keep the spotlight on counter-terrorism. I would like to thank Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister for counting to guide our permanent mission especially during our stint during the Security Council".
Just a few weeks back, the Foreign Minister of the Maldives, Abdulla Shahid was elected to the UN General Assembly with strong backing from India.
India's role at the UN also assumes importance because it has been a strong advocate of UN reforms. India has been seeking overhaul of the UN system as it was conceived nearly 75 years back and has not seen changes keeping with the spirit of the times or adequate representation for its members.
