New York City [US], September 24 : United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, Shombi Sharp, while lauding India’s G20 presidency and its New Delhi Declaration which emphasised achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said “I’d like to call it an SDG20 Presidency”.
Sharp's remarks came after an exchange of a Letter of Intent between UN-India and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, was held at an event titled 'India-UN for Global South: Delivering for Development' on Saturday.
Speaking at the event, Sharp said, “The world is beset by crises, and yet, tonight, we have heard two messages of hope and optimism. The first is that the Sustainable Development Goals remain our one agreed path forward to peace and prosperity in this second half to 2030.”
“The second is India's impact on the remaining SDG targets across the world, across the Global South, through partnership. And that is the spirit of tonight, through South-South Cooperation, through leadership at the top table, the G20 presidency, which achieved a unanimously agreed New Delhi declaration with the SDGs at the very centre of it. So much so, I've liked to call it an SDG20 Presidency,” he added.
The UN Resident Coordinator in India also said the partnership will deepen the engagement between the UN system in India and New Delhi, reflecting the "truly two-way partnership that now reflects India's development trajectory".
“Increasingly, the United Nations system across India has been identifying and helping package, collate and share Indian development best practices with other countries across the world. And this will help us amplify that important message, that important role,” Sharp said.
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with ANI, Sharp said, "We also were very pleased on behalf of the United Nations in India, to launch or to have an exchange of Letter of Intent with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to launch a brand new partnership to help amplify Indian South-South Cooperation. Reflecting that the UN system in India really has a true two-way partnership with India."
Calling India's G20 Presidency an "important flagship moment", he said "very important" commitments were made on climate action, gender equality, digital transformation transitions, the Green Development Pact, and the SDG Acceleration Action Plan of the G20.
He added, "The SDG stimulus was supported by the New Delhi declarative duration. So all of these were very important and very timely as they came just before the SDG summit and the world came together here in New York."
Sharp and EAM S Jaishankar, along with United Nations General Assembly President Dennis Francis and foreign ministers of other nations arrived to attend the 'India-UN for Global South: Delivering for Development' event.
Jaishankar is in New York City to lead the Indian delegation for the UNGA session.
He will address the United Nations General Assembly on September 26, according to an official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs. After concluding his visit to New York City, he will travel to Washington, DC.
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