India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday addressed the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. On Friday, speaking at the SAARC meeting on the sidelines of UNGA, Swaraj said that an environment of peace and security in South Asia is essential for cooperation and economic development. She also added that the number of incidents endangering South Asia are on the rise and terrorism remains the single-largest threat to peace and stability in the geopolitical region, and the world.
Highlights of Sushma Swaraj's speech:
07:58 pm: Sushma Swaraj concludes her speech
07: 56 pm: The United Nations must accept that it needs fundamental reform. Reform cannot be cosmetic. We need change the institution’s head and heart to make both compatible to contemporary reality. Reform must begin today; tomorrow could be too late: Sushma
07:54 pm: In 1996, India proposed a draft document on CCIT at the United Nations. Till today, that draft has remained a draft, because we cannot agree on a common language. On the one hand, we want to fight terrorism; on the other, we cannot define it: Sushma
07: 52 pm: Last year, Pakistan’s representative, using right to reply, displayed some photographs as “proof” of “human rights violations” by India. The photographs turned out to be from another country. Similar false accusations have become part of its standard rhetoric: Sushma
07:50 pm: Who can be a greater transgressor of human rights than a terrorist? Those who take innocent human lives in pursuit of war by other means are defenders of inhuman behavior, not of human rights. Pakistan glorifies killers; it refuses to see the blood of innocents: Sushma
07:45 pm: We are accused of sabotaging the process of talks. This is a complete lie. We believe that talks are only rational means to resolve the most complex of disputes. Talks with Pakistan have begun many times. If they stopped, it was only because of their behavior: Sushma
07:44 pm: In our case, terrorism is bred not in some faraway land, but across our border. Our neighbour’s expertise is not restricted to spawning grounds for terrorism; it is also an expert in trying to mask malevolence with verbal duplicity.
7:42 pm: World's biggest financial inclusion scheme 'Jan Dhan Yojana' has been started in India. Under this scheme, bank accounts of 32,61,00,000 people have been opened. These people hadn't even seen the doors of banks: Sushma
07: 40 pm: Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has initiated unprecedented economic and social transformation that will help India achieve its SDG goals much before time.
07:38 pm: India stands shoulder to shoulder with Indonesia in this hour of crisis: Sushma
07: 37 pm: Sushma Swaraj offers condolences to the victims of Tsunami in Indonesia
07:35 pm: Sushma Swaraj begins her speech at UNGA
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