India pledges USD 150,000 for UN peacebuilding

TS Tirumurti, permanent representative of India to the United Nations on Tuesday announced a pledge of USD 150,000 to activities of the UN fund this year.

"We extend our support to the activities of the peacebuilding fund and as a token of our engagement, India would like to announce today a pledge of USD 150,000 to the fund's activities and program this year," said TS Tirumurti.

"We believe that 2021 provides us with an opportunity to look at peacebuilding with a broader context and in a more focused manner especially in the context of a Covid pandemic which is threatening to eat out the gains we have made over the years," he said.

On India's peacebuilding efforts at UN, ambassador Tirumurti said, "As the world's largest democracy, we are conscious of the need to prioritize the building of governance structure to strengthen democracy and the rule of law. India also recognizes the critical role played by women and youth in peacebuilding activities. Strengthening security structures go hand in hand with strengthening civilian structures of good governance."

Tirumurti said that the world needs to consequently prioritise our specific aspect of peacebuilding which will have the highest impact in the post-conflict situations so that the funds are utilized to the optimum.

Further talking about India's role at the world stage, he said, "India has always played a constructive and significant role in the context of peacebuilding through its extensive development partnership with developing countries particularly with Africa and Asia. India continues to assist countries bilaterally in post-conflict situations by providing substantial grants and soft loans."

( With inputs from ANI )