Modi calls for reform of UN

On the one side, we say that our destinies are inter- linked, on the other hand we still think in terms of zero sum game. If the other benefits, I stand to lose, says Modi

• Adani in attendance as Modi addresses UN General Assembly
• Nations should accommodate each other's concerns: Modi
• A surge of democracy across the world, says Modi

United Nations: Known for his flair for catchy punch lines, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday coined a new term 'G-All' at the United Nations.

Modi mooted this while articulating the need for the world to become more united as nations, saying no one country or group of countries can determine the course of this world. "Today, we still operate in various Gs with different numbers. India, too, is involved in several. But, how much are we able to work together as G1 or G-All?," he said while calling for uniting various groupings for concerted efforts to deal with various key challenges. Modi's 35-minute address covered a number of subjects such as terrorism, including its resurgence in West Asia, reforms of the United Nations, including the Security Council, and the need for a more inclusive global development.

Calling for united efforts to deal with various challenges including scourge of terrorism, Modi asked whether we have become more united as nations while we speak of an interdependent world. "While we speak of an interdependent world, have we become more united as nations?," he asked during his speech at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.Modi said the names of groupings keep changing like G-5, G-20 and so on but there was a need to have a G-All to realise various goals and improve lives of people across the world. "On the one side, we say that our destinies are inter- linked, on the other hand we still think in terms of zero sum game. If the other benefits, I stand to lose," he said.

"It is easy to be cynical and say nothing will change; but if we do that, we run the risk of shirking our responsibilities and we put our collective future in danger," he said. Modi said there has to be a genuine international partnership. "This is not just a moral position, but a practical reality."

Meanwhile, top industrialist Gautam Adani from his home state Gujarat was seen in the audience here at the UN headquarters. Adani, head of largely Gujarat based business conglomerate Adani group, is considered to be very close to Modi and is among the select group of top industrialists from India who have come to the US during the Prime Minister's five-day visit. Talking about India's neighbourhood, the Prime Minister said that India desired a peaceful and stable environment for its development.

"A nation's destiny is linked to its neighbourhood. That is why my government has placed the highest priority on advancing friendship and cooperation with her neighbours."

Modi told Pakistan that instead of raising the Kashmir issues at the UN, "today we should be thinking about the victims of floods in Jammu and Kashmir. In India, we have organised massive flood relief operations and have also offered assistance for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir".

"India is part of the developing world, but we are prepared to share our modest resources with those countries that need this assistance as much as we do," he said. Modi told the General Assembly that terrorism was taking" new shape and new name" and no country, big or small was free from its threat. He went on to ask, "are we really making concerted international efforts to fight these forces, or are we still hobbled by our politics, our division, our discrimination between two countries, distinction between good and bad terrorists?"

Without naming Pakistan, the prime minister said even today "states allow terrorist sanctuaries on their territory or use terrorism as instruments of their policy". In an apparent reference to the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Syria, where a US-led coalition is attacking the Islamic State (IS) militants, he said that India welcomed efforts to combat terrorism's resurgence in West Asia which was affecting countries near and far. Pressing for a concerted international effort to combat terrorism and extremism, the Indian leader urged the world body to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

Calling for reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council, whose membership India is aspiring for, Modi said the world body should be more democratic and participative. "Institutions that reflect the imperatives of the 20th century won't be effective in the 21st. It would face the risk of irrelevance and we will face the risk of continuing turbulence with no one capable of addressing it," he said.Modi also said nations should accommodate each other's concerns and interests when crafting global trade pacts to ensure their efforts are "mutually supportive, not mutually damaging."

Prime Minister Modi, in his first address to the annual session of the UN General Assembly, stressed that each country must take its own national measures and each government must fulfil its responsibility to support growth and development."At the same time, we also require a genuine international partnership. At one level, it means a better coordination of policy so that our efforts becomes mutually supportive, not mutually damaging. "It also means that when we craft agreements on international trade, we accommodate each other's concerns and interests," he said.

Outlining his vision for a post-2015 development agenda, Modi said the eradication of poverty must remain the core of the ambitious agenda and "command our fullest attention." "When we think of the scale of want in the world - 2.5 billion people without access to basic sanitation; 1.3 billion people without access to electricity; or 1.1 billion people without access to drinking water, we need a more comprehensive and concerted direct international action.

India's tech-savvy Prime Minister used the analogy of Facebook and Twitter to tell the UNGA that development and empowerment can spread at the same speed as the two social networks have spread across the world. "If you think of the speed with which Facebook or Twitter has spread around the world, if you think of the speed with which cell phones have spread, then you must also believe that development and empowerment can spread with the same speed," he said.

Modi said attributing this to the efforts made in the last seven decades by United Nations and countries like India. "Today, there is a surge of democracy across the world; including in South Asia. "In Afghanistan, we are at a historic moment of democratic transition and affirmation of unity," Modi said.

"Nepal has moved from violence to peace and democracy; Bhutan's young democracy is flourishing. "Democracy is trying to find a voice in West Asia and North Africa; Tunisia's success makes us believe that it is possible," he said.