The larger economic choice for South Asia is therefore broader than whether to participate in carbon trading. The region can remain primarily a supplier of relatively inexpensive mitigation outcomes, or it can also develop the technology, professional capacity, financial products and verification systems that determine what those outcomes are worth.
On top of that is our own unsustainable living that is creating large-scale havoc on the planet. They include construction of large dams, roads, and tunnels in the fragile Himalayan region. These activities together with the melting of glaciers due to global warming are bound to create worse natural disasters in the coming years.
The regional opportunity is particularly significant in electricity. Nepal and Bhutan can potentially export hydropower; India can provide the scale of demand and investment required to create a regional electricity market; Bangladesh can become an important electricity consumer; and Sri Lanka and Pakistan can expand solar and wind. Greater cross-border electricity trade could allow countries to exploit complementary renewable resources and reduce the need for expensive domestic backup capacity.
A genuinely regional approach could eventually include - besides Nepal, China and India - Bhutan and, where relevant, downstream institutions in Bangladesh. Organisations with established Himalayan expertise, particularly the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu, could offer scientific and institutional support.
In keeping with the day’s theme, Harish also said, “We stand united with the UN membership in condemning incidents of religious intolerance against Muslims”. “With over 200 million of its citizens practicing Islam, India is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the world”, he asserted.
Guterres, in his letter and the address to the General Assembly, did not mention the reform of the Security Council whose structure is ossified in post-World War II geopolitics that shut out all of Africa, Latin America and most of Asia from permanent membership.
“The plight of the Rohingyas is something that is extremely close to his heart”, having “dealt directly with the Rohingya crisis” while in that office, he said.
India made six abstentions — that is not taking any sides - on the resolutions proposed by the US and by Ukraine as well as on one amendment moved by Russia to the Ukraine-sponsored resolution and on the three amendments sponsored by France and others to the US resolutions.
“GDP in Bhutan and Nepal is projected to grow by over 5 per cent in 2025, but the economy of Bangladesh is expected to slow following unrest in mid-2024 and lingering political uncertainty”, it said
Now Islamabad will not have to rely on Beijing to protect its terrorists like the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Sajid Mir, at the Islamic State and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, which designates individuals and groups associated with those two organisations as terrorists and imposes sanctions.
The General Assembly adopted by acclamation on December 6 the resolution moved by a core group of India, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mexico, and Andorra, and joined by many others to declare the Winter Solstice Day the World Meditation Day.
The resumption of the regular high-level meeting followed an agreement between Prime Minister Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia in October.
UNSRC President Peter Dawkins said that through the exhibition they want to highlight Vivekananda’s relevance to “the core values and purposes and mission of the United Nations”.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes “good neighbourly relations” between India and China will be strengthened following their agreement on border de-escalation, his Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday.“We certainly welcome any positive engagement between the nations of China and India, and we hope that process of good neighborly relations will be strengthened”, he said.
“India symbolises pluralism, diversity, and democracy. In contrast, Pakistan reminds the world of terrorism, parochialism, and persecution” the Indian diplomat said.
“Terrorist groups have enormously increased their capabilities by acquiring new and cutting-edge technologies, including drones and unmanned aircraft systems with cameras”, she said.
Gandhi's idea of satyagraha influenced Nelson Mandela in South Africa, and Martin Luther King Jr in the US were deeply influenced by Gandhi’s concept of Satyagraha “which teaches that truth and justice are not achieved through violence but through moral courage and peaceful dialogue”, Yang said in the message delivered by his chef de cabinet Ivor Fung at a meeting on Gandhian Values and UN Charter.
The UN membership has undergone a sea change since 1945 and the new realities need to be reflected in the permanent membership. Any proposal that does not address the issue of representation of the Global South, including Africa, Asia and Latin America, in the permanent category does a grave injustice to the aspirations of developing countries for equality.
“A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan”, he said of the consequences it faces internally as a result of promoting terrorism. But “unfortunately, their misdeeds affect others as well, especially the neighbourhood”, he said
