Need higher partnerships, financing, willingness to tackle tough global challenges: India at UN

India has underscored the need for higher partnerships, willingness and financing by the global community to tackle the tough challenges facing the world.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin on Wednesday also highlighted the discrepancy between climate ambition and climate finance.

"The challenges are such that we need higher partnerships, we need higher financing and we need higher willingness to look at the hard decisions that we need to take to fulfill the tough challenges that we face," he said.

Akbaruddin made the remarks following a speech by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the informal briefing of the General Assembly, in which he outlined the road map for change in 2020.

The Indian envoy was the first ambassador to speak and put forth questions to the Secretary General during an interactive session following Guterres' remarks.

In a wide-ranging speech to the General Assembly, Guterres said the world is facing four looming threats to human progress -- surging geopolitical tensions, climate crisis, global mistrust and the downsides of technology.

"These four horsemen...can jeopardise every aspect of our shared future...We must address these four 21st-century challenges with four 21st-century solutions," the UN chief said.

Akbaruddin said Guterres has stated the "four horsemen" with eloquence and complimented him on the several things he has done and plans to do to tackle global challenges.

Talking of a "fifth horseman", Akbaruddin said, "Even while we talk of the future, we talk in a situation where austerity is present in the UN premises today."
Drawing from the Hollywood movie, 'Jerry Maguire', he posed a question to Guterres, "Mr Secretary General, show me the money. All of us need to look at ways that we will realise this ambition. My question to you is are we looking for specific ways and specific means of implementing the numerous challenges we have?"
However, there is still a deficit of USD 174.8 million and "if we don't address some of the other challenges, I'm afraid that we will get back to the trend of the past and we will have increased debt to peacekeeping missions which is the most morally and politically unacceptable way to finance the UN."