Efforts on for Hindi's inclusion in official languages at UN: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said efforts are on to get Hindi recognised as an official language at the United Nations and progress has been made in that direction but it will take some time

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said efforts are on to get Hindi recognised as an official language at the United Nations and progress has been made in that direction but it will take some time.

He made the remarks at an event in Delhi where it was announced that the next World Hindi Conference will be organised in Nadi, Fiji from February 15-17 next year.

Asked about efforts to include Hindi among the official languages at the UN, Jaishankar said, "You would know Hindi is being used in UNESCO. As far as the use of Hindi in its headquarters is concerned, we have an MoU with them, they are using it in social media and newsletters. It will take some time in expanding this, it is not so easy that a language is introduced in the UN process."

"Work is being done on it, progress has been made and it is our expectation that this will move forward," he said.

The UN has six official languages English, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and French.

Speaking at the event, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said, "The 12th World Hindi Conference will be organised in Nadi, Fiji from February 15-17 next year. It is being organised in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Fijian government."

The logo of the World Hindi Conference and the website were also unveiled at the event.

The logo has been selected through a competition that saw 1,436 entries. Out of these, 78 were shortlisted and the entry by Munna Kushwaha of Mumbai was eventually selected. The winner will be given a cash prize of Rs 75,000.

Earlier, Jaishankar participated in the first meeting of the advisory committee and sub-committees set up to organise the 12th World Hindi Conference.

"Participated in the first meeting of the advisory committee and sub-committees formed to organise the 12th World Hindi Conference. The Modi government is making remarkable efforts for the promotion of Hindi at the international level," Jaishankar tweeted.