India backs UN reform as Jaishankar steps up diplomacy at General Assembly
A series of developments at the United Nations and across the region on Tuesday focused attention on multilateralism, global security and key legal decisions. India backed fresh efforts at the UN to strengthen multilateral cooperation, while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a round of meetings with foreign counterparts on the margins of the high-level UN General Assembly session.
At the same time, Sri Lanka delivered a major court verdict in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings case, Pakistan reported on security matters, and China set out its position on Taiwan ahead of a summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump. The UK also announced a defence test linked to closer maritime ties with the US, while India issued an advisory for its nationals in Malaysia.
At the UN, India co-sponsored an inaugural partners for multilateralism summit and said more participative deliberations and transparent decision-making are overdue "at a time when the global order is under stress". In his final UN General Assembly address, UN chief Antonio Guterres also urged world leaders to reform the Security Council, saying, "We must reform the Security Council" so that it reflects today's world and has the legitimacy to deal with current geopolitical challenges.
Jaishankar discussed regional and global issues in a series of bilateral meetings during the UN General Assembly session. He also held talks with his European Union counterparts on India-EU cooperation, multilateral issues and key global developments, including the situation in the Gulf, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.
In another engagement, Jaishankar described the first foreign ministers' meeting between India and the four-member Visegrad group of Central European countries as a "new historic occasion". The meeting marked the start of his engagements during the high-level UN General Assembly week.
In Sri Lanka, a court found 15 of the 24 accused guilty of involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide attacks. The bombings had killed 270 people, including 11 Indians, and injured more than 500 others.
In a separate development in Sri Lanka, Speaker Jagath Wickremaratna told Parliament that the Supreme Court had ruled that the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, linked to judges' retirement age, does not require approval through a public referendum.
India, meanwhile, advised its nationals in Malaysia not to use the country's 30-day visa-free entry facility to seek employment.
China said Taiwan is a "red line" a day before Xi's visit to Washington for a summit with Trump. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its mainland.
In the UK, authorities said a US torpedo had been test-fired from an undersea drone in what was described as a symbolic boost for maritime ties ahead of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's first meeting with Trump in New York.
In Pakistan, Army chief and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir said the armed forces remain determined to defeat terrorism amid rising militancy. Separately, authorities said nearly 870 kgs of explosives were used in last week's suicide blast in Kohat district, which killed 21 people, including 16 policemen.
Overall, the day's developments ranged from calls for reform of global institutions and India's diplomatic outreach at the UN to major court rulings and security-related announcements in South Asia and beyond.
