Shashi Tharoor thanks Delhi and others for support

United Nations, Oct 3: Shashi Tharoor, India's official candidate for the post of UN Secretary-General, thanked all those who had extended support in his quest to become the world's top diplomat.

He made a concession statement last night after it became clear that South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon won the fourth and final informal straw poll for the post. The South Korean got 14 positive votes with no negative from the Permanent Five of the powerful 15-member Security Council.

The official Security Council vote will be held early next week and it is near certain that Mr Ban Ki-Moon would be recommended by the Council to the 192-member General Assembly, which will formally approve the recommendation.

In his statement, Mr Tharoor congratulated his South Korean rival candidate on the latter's performance.

''I have just written to Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon to express my warmest congratulations on the outcome of the poll in the Security Council. It is clear that he will be our next Secretary-General,'' Mr Tharoor, currently undersecretary-general for public information, said.

''It is a great honour and a huge responsibility to be Secretary-General, and I wish Mr Ban every success in that task.

I entered the race because of my devotion to the United Nations, and for the same reason I will strongly support him as the next Secretary-General. The UN, and the world, has a stake in his success.'' The Indian candidate said he had pursued his candidacy keeping his faith in the United Nations and articulated the indispensability of the global organisation during his campaign.

Mr Tharoor, a noted novelist and a versatile writer, thanked the Indian government for nominating him as its official candidate.

''Though I have never been an official of the government, I consider it a great honour to have been the bearer of India's nomination, as well as of the hopes and aspirations of so many well-wishers in India and around the world. I have been humbled by the support, good wishes and prayers that they have conveyed to me,'' he observed. ''Although I did not win the race, it is a matter of genuine pride to me that I was deemed worthy by so many people and won the votes of so many governments.''

UNI