India widens UN outreach in New York
United Nations: India widened its diplomatic outreach during the UN General Assembly’s high-level week in New York, holding separate talks with Mexico, the World Food Programme and the United Nations mission in Afghanistan.
The meetings covered three different tracks. They included bilateral cooperation in technology and health, growing strains on global humanitarian work and the needs of the Afghan people.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez on the margins of the 81st session of the General Assembly.
EAM Jaishankar disclosed the meeting in a brief social media post after the talks.
The Mexican side said the two ministers discussed ways to deepen cooperation, including in technology and health. Those fields are already important parts of a relationship that also spans trade, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, science and work in multilateral forums.
In a separate engagement, Secretary (West) Sibi George met Carl Skau, acting executive director of the World Food Programme, on the sidelines of the session.
“They discussed the evolving global landscape and challenges to global humanitarian efforts,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Its emphasis was on the wider pressures confronting humanitarian operations as agencies respond to emergencies in several regions.
The discussion was also relevant to India’s long partnership with the WFP. Their work has moved from direct food assistance towards technical cooperation, including stronger food-distribution systems, nutrition programmes and the sharing of Indian experience.
Afghanistan formed the third strand of India’s UN outreach. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met Rabab Fatima, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA.
“Underlined that addressing the humanitarian needs of the people of Afghanistan must remain a focus,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. The ministry added: “Appreciated the role of UNAMA and extended India’s continued cooperation.”
The readout kept the focus on the Afghan population and the UN’s field mission. It did not refer to formal diplomatic recognition of the Taliban authorities or announce a change in India’s policy.
These engagements showed India working through bilateral and UN channels at the same gathering. Mexico brought a partnership and trade dimension. The WFP meeting dealt with pressures on humanitarian action. The UNAMA talks kept Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation in view.