India urges developed countries not to undermine environmental conventions citing Covid-19 pandemic

Coronavirus pandemic can’t be used as an excuse to not fulfill the commitments of the developed nations or to undermine environmental conventions, mentioned TS Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Addressing the 75th Session of UNGA 44th Annual Meeting of the G-77 Foreign Ministers via video conferencing, Tirumurti urged the developed nations to undertake actions to strengthen “Convention-Plus” actions and never do “Convention-Minus”.

“2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and Financing for Development framework should lay the foundations for our efforts. We need to impress on our developed country partners to do more and show the necessary urgency,” he mentioned.

He additional mentioned, “Covid pandemic cannot be used as an excuse to not fulfill their commitments or to undermine environmental conventions. We call on them to undertake activities to strengthen “Convention-Plus” actions and never do “Convention-Minus”.

The International Solar Alliance spearheaded by Prime Minister Modi the place India has pledged USD 1.7 billion for photo voltaic power initiatives, and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, are all “Convention-Plus” actions.

“Covid-19 threatens to set back decades of progress by developing countries and push millions into poverty. We need to raise our voice for recovery, resilience and reform to ensure that we go back to path of development,” he mentioned.

Urging the necessity for inexpensive well being techniques and resilient provide chains, Tirumurti mentioned that India is aiding in pressing well being and medical provides to over 150 nations.

“We have pledged USD 15 million for GAVI and operationalized the Covid-19 Emergency Fund for our neighbours with an initial contribution of USD 10 million. Prime Minister Modi has pledged that India, as the largest vaccine producing country, will make its production and delivery capacity available to the entire humanity,” he mentioned.

He additional mentioned that India’s involvement within the digital revolution might be a “model for the developing world in the global response to covid”.

Speaking on the South-South cooperation, he mentioned, “We have never let geography limit our approach to assist the developing world. India-CARICOM Leaders Meeting, India-Pacific Islands Summit, India-ASEAN Summits, India-Africa Forum Summits and other Summits have further strengthened the special bonding between India and fellow developing countries.”

On India’s growth cooperation, the Ambassador mentioned, “We will be guided by our partners’ development priorities. Our assistance does not create indebtedness and is without conditionalities. Our concessional Lines of Credit of over USD 30 billion, our grants-in-aid projects, and our flagship training and capacity building project under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) have made a huge contribution to fellow developing countries.”

“The USD 150 million India-UN Development Partnership Fund continues to support transformational sustainable development projects with a focus on LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS,” he mentioned.

While reiterating India’s dedication to work with its companions from the Global South within the G-77 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Tirumurti mentioned, “In the spirit of “World Is One Family”, India’s strategy might be human-centric, based mostly on rules of mutual respect and nationwide possession with a dedication to sustainable growth for all.”