NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2021) Indian Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, has held a series of meetings with senior foreign officials on the sidelines of a UN Security Council high-level meeting in New York, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said.
The top Indian diplomat arrived in New York for a three-day official visit on Wednesday to take part in a high level Security Council meeting on Libya. The meeting was chaired by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, whose country is presiding the council in July.
"On the sidelines of the UNSC High Level Meeting, Foreign Secretary also called on Jean-Yves Le Drian ... and briefed him on India's August UNSC Presidency initiatives and extended him External Affairs Minister's invitation to attend the High Level meetings which would be chaired by India," the press release read.
Shringla briefed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about India's priorities during its August presidency of the Security Council, namely maritime security, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism, by phone on Thursday. They also exchanged views on such topics as the situation in Afghanistan and Myanmar, climate change, and COVID-19.
The Indian official additionally met with US Permanent Representative to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and a number of senior UN officials, including Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo � "to discuss the entire gamut of India's engagement with the UN system and its agencies."
The UN Security Council includes five permanent member states � China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States � and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. On January 1, India began its tenure as a non-permanent member, marking the eighth time the country has had a seat in the council.
The presidency of the UN Security Council is rotational and each member state holds it for one month.
