Af's territory should not be used to spread terrorism: PM at UNGA

United Nations: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at Pakistan over "using terrorism as a political tool" at his address to the UN General Assembly on Saturday. "The danger of regressive thinking and extremism is rising in the world," PM Modi said at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which was held online last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his 22-minute address at the UNGA in New York — his fourth so far — the Prime Minister also praised the role played by India in combating the Covid-19 pandemic and directed sharp remarks at Pakistan and China."Those who use terrorism as a political tool have to understand that terrorism is an equally big threat for them," Modi said, a day after India gave a strong response to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan bringing up the Kashmir issue at the UNGA.

The Prime Minister also called for ensuring that no country "tries to take advantage of the delicate situation in Afghanistan and use it for its own selfish interests".

"Today, the world is facing an increased threat of regressive thinking and extremism. In such a situation, the entire world must make science-based, rational and progressive thinking the basis for development. In order to strengthen a science-based approach, India is promoting experience-based learning," he told the UNGA meeting.

Pakistan has long been known to shelter terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed on its soil and India has brought this up umpteen times in the international forum. The 9/11 attacks mastermind Osama Bin Laden was found hiding in Pakistan, and the country has several terror camps near the Line of Control with India. One of them in Balakot was hit by Indian airstrikes in February 2019.

"In Afghanistan, minorities need help. We should fulfill our responsibility... Our seas are our shared assets. We must make sure we use these resources and not abuse them. Seas are also lifelines of international trade. We must keep them away from the race of expansion and exclusion," Modi said.

The Prime Minister further said when Indians make progress, it also gives an impetus to the development of the world as its growth is linked with the globe.

Addressing the session here, Modi said today, every sixth person in the world is an Indian.

When Indians make progress, it also gives an impetus to the development of the world, he said while speaking in Hindi.

"When India grows, the world grows. When India reforms, the world transforms," Modi said.

Apart from this, Modi touched upon issues such as ocean conservation, the need for more diversified approach of the global economy in post-Covid world and India's journey towards providing clean and potable water among others. He opined that development should be all-inclusive, all-pervasive, universal and the first priority for any nation.

He was the first world leader to speak at the UN General Debate — the theme of which this year is 'Building Resilience through hope to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations.

He said the science and technology-based innovations taking place in India can make a big contribution to the world.

The Prime Minister called for a broader global response against terrorism and also asked nations to work towards keeping the world's shipping lanes free from "expansionism".

The scalability of tech solutions and cost-effectiveness are both unparalleled. Over 3.5 billion transactions are taking place every month in India through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the Prime Minister said.

India's vaccine delivery platform CoWIN offers digital support to register the administration of millions of vaccine doses in a single day, Modi said, adding that India puts into practice the principle of Seva Param Dharma (Service is the highest religion).

At UNGA, he said: "I want to inform all at UNGA that India has developed world's first DNA Covid vaccine," that can be given to everyone above 12 years of age. He also gave an open invite to manufactures across the world: "Come, make vaccines in India".

He even expressed condolence to families of those who died of Covid-19. "I represent a country that is regarded as Mother of Democracy".

He added: "The pandemic has taught the world that the global economy should be more diversified now." Modi also maintained that India today is moving forward on the path of integrated equitable development. "Our priority is that development should be all-inclusive, all-pervasive, universal and one that nurtures all.

"During the last seven years, India has brought over 430 million people who were previously unbound into the banking system. Today, over 360 million people who earlier could not even imagine this was possible now have insurance coverage as security," the Prime Minister said.

After his UNGA speech, Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter to express his confidence that "India-USA relationship will grow stronger in years to come".

"Over the last few days, have had productive bilateral and multilateral engagements, interaction with CEOs and the UN address. I am confident the India-USA relationship will grow even stronger in the years to come. Our rich people-to-people linkages are among our strongest assets," he tweeted.

The Prime Minister will bring home 157 artefacts and antiquities handed over by the United States during his three-day visit.