Narendra Modi has a history of struggles and political resilience. From chaiwala to the Chief Minister of Gujarat to the Prime Minister of the nation, the 70-year-old man has no intention to pause. It is believed that he is very active and sleeps for less than four or five hours a day.
Two years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi etched his name in the record books when he was declared ‘world’s most powerful person 2019’ by British Herald Magazine. Indian Prime Minister beat the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the then US President Donald Trump to become the ‘World’s Most Powerful Person 2019’ in the reader’s poll conducted by UK-based British Herald magazine.
In yet another sensational development, Narendra Modi will be the first Indian PM to chair a meeting during New Delhi’s presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Speaking to India, Former Permanent Representative of India to UN, Akkbarudin said: “Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian prime minister, who has decided to preside over a meeting of the United Nation Security Council. It shows that leadership wants to lead from the front. It also shows that India and its political leadership are invested in our foreign policy ventures,” said Akbaruddin.
Akbaruddin is currently Dean of Kautilya School of Public Policy. Meanwhile, India on Sunday presumed the rotating presidency of the UNSC and will be hosting signature events concerning maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism during the month.
PM Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and foreign secretary Harsh Shringla will also preside high-level meetings on talking points of global importance.
“This is our eighth stint on the UNSC yet in the 75+years, this is the first time that our political leadership has invested in presiding over an event of the security council,” Akbaruddin said.
“Although this is a virtual meeting, it’s still a first meeting of the sort for us. It is historic. The last time an Indian PM was engaged in this effort was the then PM PV Narasimha Rao in 1992 when he attended a UNSC meeting,” he added.
It is to be noted that India took over the presidency from France. TS Tirumurti, who is the ambassador of India to the United Nations had thanked France Permanent Representative to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, for driving the UN Security Council for July.
“India has just assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council on 1 August. India and France enjoy historical and close relations. I thank France for all the support which they’ve given us during our stint in the Security Council,” Tirumurti said in a video message.
The is also the country’s first presidency in the UNSC during its 2021-22 tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC. For the unversed, the two-year tenure of India as a non-permanent member of the UNSC kick-started on 1 January 2021.
The first working day of the country’s presidency will get underway from today when Tirumurti will conduct a hybrid press conference in the UN headquarters on the Council’s programme of work for the month.