Many countries referred to India at UNGA. Jaishankar says it's not usual

External affairs minister S Jaishankar said many countries referred to India this time at the United Nations General Assembly which is not usual at the platform and shows that it has something to do with the reforms in the United Nations that India is being seen with more relevance. As someone who has been coming to the UNGA for many years, Jaishankar said, he welcomes the shift which is more than a subtle shift. Also Read | India is on side of peace: EAM S Jaishankar on Ukraine

"In respect of UN reform, every General Assembly (session) you revisit that issue, but this time something has shifted. You can see that, you can sense that. It was articulated by President Biden. I think you also saw minister Lavrov of Russia to explicitly mention India from the General Assembly podium. A number of countries also actually also referred to India. It is not usual in a General Assembly for presidents and prime ministers or foreign ministers of a country to refer to another country," Jaishankar said.

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"But you saw that on a number of occasions vis-a-vis us and to my mind it shows that it had a relevance to the reform of the UN, it reaffirmed that India mattered more and underlined the global Safraidouth relevance that we have," Jaishankar said. Also Read | Jaishankar on meet with Lavrov: ‘Briefed on war from Russian perspective’

"We've got some tailwind behind us. Now we have to see what we can make of it. I think it's a welcome development. As someone who's been coming here for many years, I do believe that it's more than a subtle shift and I welcome it," he said.

Russia pitches India for permanent membership in UNSC: ‘Key international actor’

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov backed India for becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council. In his address, he said India and Brazil are key international actors and should be counted for permanent membership in the council.

Jamaica's foreign minister Kamina Johnson Smith praised India's vaccine outreach and said while others chose to withhold supplies, India's vaccine outreach exemplified its principles of equality and mutual benefit. "We are deeply grateful to government, the people of India, led by PM Modi and external affairs minister Jaishankar," Jamaican foreign minister said.

“From the very onset, India was a reliable partner whose assistance was critical to our pandemic response. India embraced a holistic and outward-looking vaccine diplomacy strategy...Jamaica was able to secure its first life-saving vaccines from India,” the minister said.

(With agency inputs)