Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu addresses the first plenary Session of the 13th ASEM Summit (Asia – Europe Meeting)

• Vice President calls for reforms in UN Security Council and other key international organizations
• Says, the challenges of contemporary world cannot be addressed with systems designed to deal with the challenges of the past
• Without peace, development suffers and lack of development creates fertile ground for violence and instability – Vice President
• Reformed multilateralism is a key driving principle that India has pursued – Vice President
• Vice President addresses the Plenary Session of the 13th ASEM Summit

The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu today emphasized the need for reforms in the UN Security Council and other key international organizations so as to make them reflective of the contemporary realities of today and capable enough to deal with the contemporary challenges.

Addressing the first Plenary Session of the 13th ASEM Summit virtually from New Delhi today, the Vice President said that the world is witnessing and grappling with rapid economic, technological and security challenges today and the current multilateral system has fallen short in providing an effective response to these challenges. He also underlined that reformed multilateralism is a key driving principle that India has pursued for a purposeful reform of existing global institutional structures.

The two-day Summit that was inaugurated today is being hosted by Cambodia in virtual format and is themed on “Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth”. The Indian delegation at the ASEM-13 was led by the Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, who will also be addressing the Retreat Session of the Summit tomorrow.

Observing that without peace, development suffers, Shri Naidu also highlighted that the lack of development and stifled economic progress create fertile ground for violence and instability. Therefore, he called for efforts towards promoting economic activity and enhancing the livelihood security and suggested that it will go a long way in the recovery of nations adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stressing the need to mitigate the causes of persistent insecurity at a global level, the Vice President highlighted the need for reforms in the international structure responsible for maintaining global peace and security.

Opining that the multitude of challenges of today’s dynamic and interdependent world cannot be addressed with outdated systems that were designed to deal with the challenges of the past, Shri Naidu expressed an urgent need to re-imagine international cooperation and expand its ambition further. “It is the lack of a coordinated global response that has exposed the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the multilateral system as it stands today,” he said.

The Vice President also said that the pandemic has exposed the fault lines from unreliable global supply chains to inequitable vaccine distribution, further underlining the need for global solidarity and strengthened multilateralism. Noting that the re-imagined post pandemic world will make profoundly different demands from the multilateral system, he highlighted four important areas for international economic cooperation namely, resilient and reliable supply chains, health security, digital for development and green and sustainable recovery.

The Vice President congratulated all participating members on the 25 anniversary of ASEM process which was established in the year 1996. Praising ASEM for bringing leaders and people from both the continents together to resolve the issues of global concern, he reaffirmed India’s commitment to work towards strengthening the forces of cooperative multilateralism.

MEA