PM Modi may preside over UNSC meeting on August 9

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may preside over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on August 9, becoming the first Head of the Government of India to do so.

India took over the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the month of August on Sunday, promising to remain “a voice of moderation, an advocate of dialogue and a proponent of international law”.

“It is a singular honour for us to be presiding over the Security Council in the same month when we are celebrating our 75th Independence Day,” T S Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said.

“This is our eighth tenure in the Security Council. In the last seven months of our tenure in the council, we have taken a principled and forward-looking position on various issues. We have been unafraid of shouldering responsibilities. We have been proactive. We have focussed on issues of our priority.”

Though no official announcement has been made yet, Tirumurti’s predecessor and retired diplomat Syed Akbaruddin posted on Twitter that the Prime Minister might address preside over a virtual meeting of the Security Council on August 9.

“A first in the making…With India as President of @UN Security Council in August, an Indian Prime Minister may perhaps preside, albeit virtually, a Council meeting for (the) 1st (first) time on 9 August 2021,” tweeted Akbaruddin.

P V Narasimha had attended a meeting of the UNSC in 1992 during his tenure as the Prime Minister, as India had been a non-permanent member of the council then. But he had not presided over a meeting of the council.

India commenced its eighth two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on January 1.

Tirumurti said that India had made efforts to narrow differences within the Security Council so that it could speak in one voice on a variety of important issues. He said that India would organise signature events on maritime security, peacekeeping and counterterrorism during its presidency at the UN Security Council.