India as very important inspiration for international community: UN chief

Washington, June 9: India as a very important inspiration for the international community says UN chief Antonio Guterres. He was speaking at an event marking the first anniversary of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund. It was launched last year to support projects in the developing world for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.

 

India has committed an amount of 100 million dollars over ten years for the fund. In April 2018, India established a separate Commonwealth Window under the Fund aimed at a partnership with developing countries in the Commonwealth.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said that from the first project of a million dollars, the annual contribution and portfolio of projects has multiplied several times within the first year of the fund's operation. The UN Chief thanked India for its "strong commitment to multilateralism" and to the partnership with the United Nations. An India-United Nations fund aimed at supporting sustainable development for low-income nations marked its first anniversary on Friday, with 22 projects having already been approved in 25 partner countries.

 

“The Fund’s focus on supporting people in the least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing States reflects our ambition to reach those that are left furthest behind and to reach them first,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his remarks to an event marking the first anniversary of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

Managed by the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, the Fund seeks to assist projects for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in partner countries.

South-South cooperation in the UN context refers to the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries. India has committed $100 million to the Fund over the next decade.