United Nations, Nov 30 (PTI) Top UN leaders and envoys have lauded India’s “exemplary leadership” in addressing world challenges and for being a champion of South-South cooperation, as they highlighted the nation’s G20 Presidency and termed the “enduring” partnership between India and the United Nations as a “guidelight” within the Global South.

India assumed the year-long G20 Presidency in December last year and is all set to hand over the baton to Brazil.

The Permanent Mission of India to the UN and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) organised a special event at the world body’s headquarters here Wednesday to commemorate six years of collaborative partnership of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

“India has long been a champion of South-South cooperation and the global pursuit of the SDGs, bringing to life its philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – the world as one interconnected family,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said in her remarks at the event.

Mohammed underscored that the India UN Development Partnership Fund stands as a “testament” to the “extraordinary accomplishments” that nations can obtain once they unite, surpassing borders and variations to create a sustainable, equitable and simply world.

Mohammed mentioned that the sixth anniversary of the Partnership Fund “compels us to contemplate the tremendous obstacles we face in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the vital role that South-South cooperation can play in overcoming these challenges.”

Since its launch in 2017, the Fund has supported 76 initiatives in 54 nations. President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly Dennis Francis described this as “no small feat”, particularly within the present age of shrunken fiscal areas compounded by the impacts of the pandemic and different world shocks in recent times.

Francis informed the occasion, attended by UN envoys, officers, coverage specialists, suppose tanks and academicians, that the truth that beneficiaries of the Partnership Fund lower throughout the membership of the Global South – of which India stays integrally a dynamic half – and helps all geographic areas whereas sustaining a robust emphasis on Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries speaks volumes about its imaginative and prescient of growth and its skill to channel funds the place they’re wanted most.

“We are all accustomed to the fact that keeping an eye on the horizon is nothing new for India. Its exemplary leadership in addressing global challenges and being a strong voice in multilateral affairs is well-known – and has been for many on full display, particularly in recent years including during the pandemic,” Francis mentioned.

He added that India’s G20 Presidency marked a “commendable historic milestone” as the primary ever to usher within the African Union as a everlasting member into this grouping – thus sending a robust sign to the Global South of India’s dedication to the necessity for solidarity and equity in world financial governance.

Francis added that India, dwelling to one-sixth of humanity, additionally performs an unparalleled function within the world mission – together with on the UN – to create a extra simply and equitable world.

“Its long legacy includes, among others, the championing of democracy, promotion of women-led development and its pioneering role leading to the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs,” he said.

Francis underscored that the “enduring partnership between India and the UN has spurred simply and inclusive growth – from the world’s densest cities to its remotest villages – and as we speak serves as a guidelight inside the Global South, within the true spirit of South-South Cooperation.”

Managed by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation and applied by 12 UN entities on the nation stage, the USD 150 million Fund helps progressive, Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, and transformational sustainable growth initiatives throughout the creating world.

The Fund operates throughout the Global South and helps all geographic areas, with a robust emphasis on Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj mentioned that India has walked the speak and its dedication to the ethos of leaving nobody behind is not only rhetoric, however a demonstrated actuality.

She famous that over the previous decade, India’s growth partnerships have reached 78 nations and manifested in 600 initiatives, talking volumes of the nation’s goodwill and capabilities.

India’s “timely humanitarian assistance”, spanning throughout nations from Afghanistan to Ukraine, Turkiye to Nepal, and its unwavering help to Gaza and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees within the Near East (UNRWA) “highlight our resolve in fostering global solidarity,” Kamboj mentioned.

She added that the Fund, masking an unlimited spectrum of areas together with well being, schooling and environmental sustainability is a “testament to our commitment to multi-dimensional development, acknowledging that progress in one area is often interlinked with advancements in others.”

“India stands as a pillar of management and advocacy for the Global South. In a world of shifting world dynamics, our nation has risen as not only a voice, however as a consultant of the hopes and challenges of creating nations.

On the event, the India-UN Development Partnership Fund Annual Report was launched. Envoys and representatives from Dominica, El Salvador, Morocco, Cameroon, Nicaragua, Senegal, Fiji, Tuvalu, Togo, and Tonga shared their nationwide experiences and growth initiatives undertaken via the Fund.