00:02Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Namaskar from 1.4 billion people of Bharat.
00:16We are gathered at this General Assembly when the United Nations enters its ninth decade.
00:24It was founded to maintain international peace and security and take effective collective action to that end.
00:36Members committed to develop friendly relations and to strengthen universal peace.
00:43Yet, even as we meet, conflicts and confrontations remain our primary preoccupation.
00:52The inability to maintain peace is not just undermining security, but threatening progress and retarding development.
01:04In a globalized world, the effects of war are felt worldwide.
01:11Countries far from conflicts are being penalized for no fault of theirs.
01:18Those most impacted often have the least say.
01:24This Assembly must face up through the true state of affairs.
01:30This year, we are witnessing a conflict in the Gulf, one that is exacerbating an already difficult situation.
01:40We remain deeply concerned over continuing hostilities.
01:45The targeting of commercial shipping and seafarers, transiting international waterways, is simply unacceptable.
01:53India calls upon all parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, ensure protection of civilians, and uninterrupted flow of energy
02:07and commerce.
02:16As Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated, endless war must give way now to an end to war.
02:26India supports ongoing initiatives to bring peace.
02:30Even as this is underway, there is an urgent need to address the security of seafarers and supply of food
02:39grains and energy.
02:42India is prepared to do everything possible to ameliorate this situation, especially with regard to food and energy security.
02:56Tensions and violence also regrettably continue in West Asia or the Middle East.
03:03We strongly believe that a durable and lasting peace requires a two-state solution.
03:11In the meanwhile, India is contributing to humanitarian assistance and relief efforts for the Palestinian people.
03:20Mr. President, let us recognize that peace is not just the absence of war.
03:28If the world is subjected to continuous threats and pressures, then we are really living on the edge of an
03:36abyss.
03:37All it takes is one more step to push us over.
03:42Therefore, it is imperative to strengthen stability, security, and predictability.
03:50These are crucial elements of the enabling environment for peace.
03:56If any of them are undermined, peace will inevitably be weakened.
04:04After eight decades of the UN, this should have become our second nature.
04:10Instead, what we are actually seeing is a weaponization of everything.
04:17A mindset of extreme competition has set in, undermining institutions and establishing choke points.
04:26It ends from the world of finance to constricting market access, disrupting supply chains, and withholding technology.
04:38As a result, nations are now more focused on de-risking and diversifying.
04:50Now, while this may secure their interest to varying degrees,
04:54the overall atmosphere is no longer that of trust or goodwill.
05:00Mr. President, the predicament of the global south is particularly acute.
05:07It faces a 4F crisis of the security of food, fuel, fertilizer, and finance.
05:16The combined impact of a super alineo, compounding fertilizer shortages, and now impediments to grain movements.
05:27All these are cause for alarm.
05:31Moreover, SDG progress is under increasing pressure.
05:36The global south's right to industrialize is also undermined by non-market practices and market denial.
05:44The march of technology that was meant to instill hope has now become a source of anxiety.
05:53Misuse of AI is sharpening bias and diluting mutual respect.
06:00These directions bode ill for the aims and objectives of the United Nations.
06:08A persistent threat to peace has been the scourge of terrorism.
06:14That this could be state-sponsored with cross-border purpose makes it a direct affront to the global order.
06:24Governments indulging in such practices must be held accountable.
06:29There must be no dilution in our zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism.
06:35Its financial aspects, in particular, should be exposed and should be countered.
06:43Mr. President, yesterday, a serial practitioner of terrorism misrepresented facts before this assembly.
06:52Arguments were invoked to normalize terrorism and claim immunity from its consequences.
07:01That will not stand.
07:03Our right to defend ourselves against terrorism will be exercised.
07:09Mr. President, friendship and goodwill cannot coexist with terrorism.
07:15And understandings premised on that will naturally be called into question.
07:22It is for the perpetrator of terrorism to mend its ways.
07:27Mr. President, given the state of the world, each member of the UN must ask themselves what they can do.
07:36In so far as India is concerned, its inclusive growth and all-round progress has advanced the prospects of one
07:46-sixth of humanity.
07:47When health, nutrition and education are effectively delivered, when drinking water, electricity, roads and housing are ensured,
07:57this veritably lifts the global SDG outcomes.
08:03But today, India has much more than that to offer.
08:08Our digital public infrastructure is not only ensuring better governance, but is the backbone of delivering socioeconomic benefits.
08:18Rapid growth of infrastructure is visible across all its dimensions.
08:24A continuously improving ease of doing business, ease of living, startup and innovation culture, and focused sectoral missions have all
08:34contributed to our economic story.
08:38Even as India progresses, we are conscious of our global responsibilities.
08:44We know that many of our experiences and achievements are replicable elsewhere.
08:49The deep solidarity of the global South has always encouraged us to share what we have.
08:58Therefore, we respond more actively to the requirements of our partners.
09:04600 major Indian development projects in 78 nations testify to our commitment,
09:10a commitment that ranges from infrastructure, manufacturing, and agriculture, to IT, and to capacity building.
09:20Climate action projects and initiatives have been an important part of these endeavors.
09:27Whether it is clean energy and clean water projects, sustainable agriculture,
09:32or the dissemination of best practices and technology, our capabilities and experiences have been reflected abroad.
09:42African nations and small island developing states have been our preferred partners in this journey.
09:50Initiatives like the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure,
09:56or the Global Biofuel Alliance, are all making steady progress.
10:02Mr. President, the turbulence of our times also demands more from each of us.
10:10India has sent medical shipments to conflict zones, epidemic locations, and after natural disasters.
10:17As a first responder, we were there early, be it the Nepal flash floods or the Venezuela earthquake.
10:26Our limb-fitment camps have given a new hope to many across the world.
10:33Whether to meet food and medicine shortages, energy or fertilizer needs, or indeed creating livelihoods,
10:41India has contributed continuously and will do so.
10:46Our capacity-building and experience-sharing programs have made a real difference across the Global South, especially in Africa.
10:57The same international spirit also inspires our contribution to safeguarding peace.
11:05India has always been at the forefront of UN peacekeeping operations.
11:10Right now, our contingents are present in 9 out of 11 mandates.
11:17Our troops have stood their ground firmly and professionally, even under pressure.
11:23We take pride that an Indian woman combat helicopter pilot was awarded the UN 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the
11:35Year.
11:37Mr. President, new challenges in the maritime domain have added to long-standing ones on land.
11:46There have been attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers in the Gulf and from the Red Sea to the Black
11:53Sea.
11:54Indian seafarers have lost their lives, as indeed have others from other nations.
12:01This is completely unacceptable.
12:04India has joined Liberia and 23 other partners in an initiative to rally global public opinion against such unwarranted targeting.
12:16We must ensure that the safety and security of shipping and seafarers is never compromised.
12:24Scrupulously observing international law is an integral element of that India world.
12:31An issue central to current global conversations is that of AI.
12:37India hosted the AI Impact Summit this February, gathering together the best minds on that subject.
12:46We view AI as a transformational driver for human empowerment, economic prosperity, and population-scale problem-solving.
12:58We believe in the right of each nation to shape its ecosystem with the development of its own models and
13:07deployment strategies consistent with its national goals and priorities.
13:12A.I. will be very much part of our partnership agenda with the global salt.
13:21As technology is democratized, this process is greatly facilitated, Mr. President, by an ethos of mutual respect.
13:31Indeed, care and consideration for the interests and viewpoints of others reinforces even the prospects of peace.
13:39And that attitude is best fostered by an appreciation of each other's culture, heritage, and traditions.
13:48In a globalized world, we must continuously and vigorously promote international understanding.
13:56Economic rebalancing is well underway.
13:59The political one is also visible.
14:01And the third facet, cultural rebalancing, must now be taken forward.
14:08Mr. President, we are now well on our way towards a multipolar world.
14:14The post-1945 order is giving way to new realities.
14:20This process of adjustment, accommodation, and acceptance will not be easy.
14:25The turbulence that we witness today emanates from those very difficulties.
14:32Yet, the march of an intrinsically diverse world towards a more democratic future cannot be halted.
14:41Peace, in a pluralistic order, requires civil conversations.
14:46It requires broad-based consultations.
14:50It requires transparent decision-making.
14:53Large sections of humanity cannot be excluded from that process.
14:59The case for reformed multilateralism only gets stronger day after day.
15:05Mr. President, after a decade of service and dedication to the cause of multilateralism,
15:13we will soon bid farewell to Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
15:19India deeply values his many contributions, in particular, his personal support for mission life.
15:27Mr. President, at the conclusion of this general debate, we hope that all participating delegations
15:35leave with a greater commitment to peace, to development, and to prosperity.
15:41This cannot be an imposition or even a negotiation.
15:47It must be a mindset.
15:49It must be an outlook.
15:50It must be a belief.
15:52In the lawns outside this building are recorded the powerful words of Mahatma Gandhi,
15:59and that should serve as an inspiration for these times.
16:03And those words are that there is no way to peace.
16:07Peace is the way.
16:09I thank you.
