World must unite against terror, says Modi at UNGA; Makes no mention of Pak

World must unite against terror for the sake of humanity, says Modi; Makes no mention of Pak

New York, Sep 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 74th session of the UN General Assembly on Friday. He said that India believes in peace and harmony, but knows how to deal with terrorism. PM Modi did not mention Pakistan or recent developments in Kashmir during his speech.

"We believe that terrorism is not a challenge for any one country, but for all countries and of mankind as a whole. So for the sake of humanity, all the world has to unite against terror," the Prime Minister said in his speech which lasted less than 20 minutes.

He said that India is an ancient civilisation that has a lot of tolerance. "A menace like terrorism is a threat to the entire world. We are serious about fighting terrorism and it makes us angry. To effectively deal with this menace the entire world has to come together," he said.

Modi highlighted major changes that have taken place in India in the last few years and briefly explained schemes like Clean India Mission and the drive to open bank accounts for all. Modi mentioned Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and Jan Dhan Yojna in his opening remarks.

"I was voted to lead the country by people of the world's largest democracy. The world's largest democracy voted for my government. We came back to power with a bigger majority and because of this mandate I am here today," he said.

India's contribution towards UN Peace-keeping missions has been immense. India takes issues related to environment and climate very seriously, PM Modi said, adding, "We are committed to fighting global warming."

Prime Minister Modi was the fourth speaker after President of Mauritius, Vice President of Indonesia and Prime Minister of Lesotho. This is PM Modi's second address at the UNGA.

Prime Minister's of Norway and Singapore will speak after PM Modi, and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is the seventh speaker plenary meeting.

Prime Minister Modi held a number of bilateral meetings with top world leaders like US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of his UN address. He is likely to address the General Assembly in Hindi.

Since its participation as a founding member of the UN in 1945, India has shown unwavering commitment to multilateralism to advance peace and security and promote broad-based inclusive economic growth and development in the world, the prime minister said last week in his departure statement.

"Galvanising multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion" is this year's theme at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

Highlights from PM Modi's address at UN General Assembly (UNGA):

"We belong to a country which has given the message of peace (Buddha) not war (yuddha) to the world. Terrorism is the biggest challenge not for one country, but for the entire world and humanity."

"India's contribution towards United Nations Peace-keeping missions has been immense, no other country in the world has sacrificed as much as India has for these peace-keeping missions."

"3000 years back great poet of India Kaniyan Pungundranar, in the oldest language of the world Tamil, said 'Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir', meaning 'We harbour a feeling of kinship for all places and all people are our own.'

"It is a great honour for me to address the 74th Session of the United Nations on behalf of 1.3 billion Indians. It is a very special occasion, also, because this year, the entire world is celebrating 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi."