PM Modi skips Pakistan in his UN speech


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New York, 26 Sep 2015: He walked in wearing a sharp, brown suit. He greeted the general secretary of the United Nations and the president of the general assembly with a namaste and went straight up to the mic. The stage was set — heads of some of the most powerful and influential countries were ready to listen to the Prime Minister of India and he had ten minutes to articulate the struggles and aspirations of 1.2 billion people at the UN Sustainable Development Summit.

 

The circular and high ceiling of the general assembly did not help matters - the tasteful art on the sides did little to brighten up the mood. With so many heads of state under one roof, the mood was charged and intense. Modi was clearly not on familiar territory. While his speeches in India are fiery, filled with metaphors, anecdotes and quirky one-liners, he seemed to be in a sombre mood as he read out his speech in a very monotonous tone.

 

In contrast to his arrival in the United States - which threatened to bring New York City to a standstill as people gathered on the streets with banners, posters and drums — during his speech there was pin-drop silence. The silence was pronounced, compared to the previous speaker, the German chancellor - Angela Merkel - who was applauded almost every three minutes for the promises she said her country would make.

 

PM Modi exceeded the time of ten minutes allotted to him.

 

"I thank Prime Minister Modi representing 1.2 billion. He had to exceed the time limit by five-ten minutes. That means it is one minute for every 100 million people," said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The comment broke the silence as people clapped and laughed.

 

In his speech, Modi did not lose an opportunity to highlight some of his government’s achievements. "The government has opened 180 million bank accounts and this is one of the biggest empowerment of the poor that you can conceive. The benefits to the poor are being transferred directly to these bank accounts. We are also moving forward on an ambitious project to give insurance benefits to the poor," he said.

 

When it comes to development, Modi gave an interesting insight on how to go about it. "Worldwide, when we speak of development, we speak of only two sectors-the public sector or the private sector. What we have done is to focus on a new sector which we define as a personal sector of individual enterprise," he said. "So, we have the private, the public and the personal sector. This sector includes individual enterprises, microfinance, innovation and start-ups," he added - yet again highlighting his interest in micro-enterprises and start-ups.

 

PM addressing the United Nations Summit for the adoption of Post-2015 Development Agenda.

 

During this trip to the US, Modi has no bilateral meetings scheduled with Pakistan. He was careful not to mention anything about Pakistan during his speech at the summit. He, however, did say that India is ready to share her resources and success. "Indian culture observes the entire world as one big family. According to the ancient Indian texts, the wise look at the world as one big family," he said.

 

Modi ended the speech with another quote from "ancient texts". "May all be happy. May all be healthy. May all see welfare. And, may there be no sorrow of any kind," he said.




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