UN SECRETARY GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES CALLS INDIA's DONATION OF MEDICINES DURING COVID-19 A REASON FOR ITS INCREASED IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL STAGE

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres referred to India as the UN's "partner of choice," adding that New Delhi's influence on the world stage has grown as a result of its Covid-19-era donations of medicines, supplies, and vaccines to its neighbours.

“From your donations of medicines, equipment and vaccines, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to your humanitarian assistance and financial aid to neighbouring countries like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, you’re increasing your impact on the international stage. India, today is a partner of choice for the United Nations,” the UN Secretary General said.

In order to shape global human rights and to protect and promote the rights of all individuals, including members of minority communities, the Secretary General of the United Nations emphasised the importance of protecting the rights and freedoms of journalists, human rights activists, students, and academics in India. He noted that as an elected member of the Human Rights Council, India has a responsibility to shape global human rights, and that this responsibility should essentially start in the country first before moving on to other countries.

The continuing independence of India's judiciary must be assured by governments in charge, he continued, in order to defend human rights.

According to the UN chief who arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday, India's digital platform Cowin is the largest vaccine initiative to prevent COVID-19 and has effectively administered more than 2 billion doses.

The "biggest democracy in the world," according to Guterres, was praised along with the nation's recent transformation into one of the main economies with the quickest growth rates.