Give energy, new direction to multilateralism, UN: PM Modi to UNGA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday the world was witnessing a "new era" with modern technological advances and urged the international community to give a new direction to multilateralism and to the United Nations. Prime Minister Modi delivered his much-awaited second address to the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session here.

For long, India has been calling for the reform of the UN Security Council along with Brazil, Germany and Japan. The four countries support each others' bids for the permanent seats in the top UN body. "In this new era, we have to give new energy and direction to multilateralism and the United Nations," Modi said.

India has repeatedly reaffirmed the need for an early reform of the UN Security Council including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership to enhance its legitimacy, effectiveness and representativeness. Along with the fellow nations in the G4 bloc, India has maintained that the current composition of the 15-nation Council does not reflect the changed global realities and stressed that the UNSC reform was essential to address today's complex challenges.

India, in the past, has warned that the UN risks falling into irrelevance in the absence of fundamental reforms and said multilateralism will collapse if the world body remains ineffective. Modi delivered his maiden address as the prime minister to world leaders at the UN General Assembly in 2014.

This year, his visit and address to world leaders is the first after winning a second term as Prime Minister in a resounding electoral victory in May.