A day after India assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council for August, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the global body, Munir Akram, said Islamabad will be “watchful, but not concerned” during New Delhi’s spell at the forum.
During its presidency, India will host signature events related to various issues on the UN agenda with a focus on maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism, NDTV reported.
The presidency of the 15-member Council rotates monthly, going alphabetically among member states. India took over the presidency from France on Sunday, and it’s only coincidental that it has coincided with the second anniversary of the annexation of occupied Kashmir and the completion of the withdrawal of foreign troops from war-battered Afghanistan.
This is India’s eighth stint on the UNSC.
“India will obviously use its SC Presidency to promote its own narrative on various issues, including terrorism and UN reform,” Akram told Dawn early Monday morning. “We will watch its conduct carefully and ensure that no moves that are against Pakistan’s core interests are allowed to succeed.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually preside over the body’s meeting on “Maintenance of international peace and security: Enhancing maritime security – A case for international cooperation”, in which member states will discuss coordination to tackle maritime crime and security issues such as piracy and drug trafficking.
Modi will be the first Indian prime minister to preside over a UNSC meeting. It is possible that at the behest of its Western allies, New Delhi may also raise the issue of navigation in the South China Sea.
Washington wants its regional allies and other Asian nations to take a more united stance against China over the waters, where tensions have spiked in the wake of Beijing’s construction of seven man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago.
