Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India has extended medical and other assistance to more than 150 countries in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the global crisis has severely tested the resilience of all nations.
Addressing the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) session, the Prime Minister said that India has responded with "speed and solidarity" be it earthquakes, cyclones or the Ebola crisis.
"Be it earthquakes, cyclones, Ebola crisis or any other natural or man-made crisis, India has responded with speed and solidarity. In our joint fight against COVID-19, we have extended medical and other assistance to over 150 countries," he said.
The Prime Minister stressed that India tried to make the fight against the pandemic a people's movement with the joint efforts of the government and civil society.
"COVID-19 pandemic has severely tested the resilience of all nations. In India, we have tried to make the fight against the pandemic a people's movement by combining the efforts of government and civil society," he said.
It was Prime Minister Modi's first speech at the UN after India's election to the Security Council as a non-permanent for 2021-22.
In his address, the Prime Minister stressed that India has actively supported the UN's development work and ECOSOC.
He said the first president of ECOSOC was an Indian.
"From the very beginning, India has actively supported the UN's development work and the ECOSOC. India also contributed to shaping the ECOSOC agenda," he said
The Prime Minister had earlier delivered the keynote address virtually at the 70th anniversary of ECOSOC in January 2016.
The ECOSOC was established as one of the six principal organs of the UN and is mandated to offer direction to, and undertake the coordination of the economic, social, and cultural activities of the United Nations with responsibility for advancing international economic and social cooperation and development.
The first meeting of the ECOSOC was convened on January 23, 1946, in London. The inaugural presidency of ECOSOC in 1946 was held by Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar.
( With inputs from ANI )