‘Development cooperation central to India’s foreign policy’

United Nations, Oct 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) "For India, development cooperation is a central pillar of our foreign policy," Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, the leader of the delegation of MPs to the UN, has said at the India-UN Fund Annual Event-2026.

"The fund is part of India's broader engagement with the Global South and managed in a multilateral context, encompassing concessional finance, infrastructure, humanitarian assistance, capacity building, digital cooperation, and cultural heritage conservation," she said on Thursday at the meeting where representatives of countries from the Pacific region through Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa to Latin America came together to laud India's assistance.

The fund set up in 2017 with a pledge of $150 million "demonstrates how South-South cooperation can advance nationally owned solutions and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals" of the UN, she added.

Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP who represents Bolangir in Odisha, highlighted the uniqueness of the programme funded by India where the recipients are respected and set their own priorities.

"Our approach is demand-driven, consultative, and guided by mutual respect, mutual benefit, and respect for sovereignty," she said.

"Partner countries identify their priorities", and "we work together to translate those priorities into tangible outcomes," she added.

UN Under-Secretary-General Hao Liang Xu said, "India-UN Development Partnership Fund has supported 94 projects in 64 countries, connecting India's financial resources and development experience with the critical needs of partner countries."

"The fund exemplifies the principles of effective South-South cooperation," he added.

"India's support touched the people's lives," he said.

He recounted his recent visit to Burkina Faso, where he saw first-hand "how support from India has helped communities to construct the Nyando Dam and build resilient livelihoods through irrigation, women's cooperatives, community fisheries, and school improvements, benefiting more than 50,000 people".

India's Permanent Represenative to UN, P Harish, said, "Our approach to development cooperation is rooted in our civilsational ethos of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', that the whole world is one family."

"We believe that progress becomes more enduring when we share our experiences among friends and partners in the Global South, strengthen each other's capabilities, and advance together," he added.

Representatives spoke of the assistance received directly, and through the fund for projects ranging from disaster relief and climate change amelioration, to statistical survey and maternal health.

Tapugao Falefou, the Permanent Representative of Tuvalu to UN, said, "This Fund stands as a practical demonstration of international solidarity and South-South cooperation, delivering tangible development benefits to vulnerable communities."

Among the projects in his small island nation is the installation of a solar home standalone energy system for the community of Funaota giving it access to reliable and sustainable energy, he added.

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to UN, Jayantha Jayasuriya, spoke of the importance of the Global South-driven assistance programmes "at a time when development financing is under growing pressure".

"It gives countries another way to pool their strengths and make progress on priorities that matter to their people," he said.

India's "support during Sri Lanka's economic crisis demonstrated the value of this partnership," he added.

India provided the island neighbour with $1 billion line of credit during its 2022 economic crisis.

When Cyclone Dita hit last November, Jayasuria said India responded within 24 hours sending rescue teams under Operation Sagar Bandhu.

Gheorghe Leuca, the Permanent representative of Moldova to UN, said, "The theme of this year's event, 'South-Led Solutions: Shared Results', captures the value of cooperation: responding to nationally identified needs, drawing on shared knowledge, and delivering practical benefits for people, especially those in vulnerable situations."

The first project in Moldova helped the National Bureau of Statistics to produce more reliable data on population and migration, he added.

This was followed by a project to create a statistical system capable of responding to humanitarian and emergency shocks, he said.

Tanzania's Permanent Representative to UN, Togolani Edris Mawora, said that drought, floods, changing rainfall patterns, and other extreme weather events due to climate change have affected agriculture, livestock, water resources, infrastructure, and livelihoods.

His country welcomed the Fund's Climate Change and Resilience Program "as a very timely and strategic intervention to address growing climate-related risks".

Cuba's Permanent Representative to UN, Ernesto Soberon Guzman, said, "India's leadership in the Global South and its support for South-South cooperation demonstrate the power of partnerships built on equality, mutual respect, and shared aspirations for sustainable development."

"In an increasingly unjust and exclusionary international order, these forms of cooperation are more necessary than ever," he added.

"We particularly appreciate the recent support of India-UN Development Partnership Fund for a project to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity in Cuba," he said.

Jarbaz Barbosa, the Director of the Pan American Health Organisation, spoke about the various health programmes sponsored by the Fund and effect on the lives of people.

Leticia, a mother from the indigenous Nivacle group in Paraguay, where the Fund set up a health network, Barbosa said captured the impact best: "I'm quoting her, 'They understood our culture and our mother's heart'."

Source: IANS