On the final day of its Presidency of the powerful institution of the international body, India presided over the unanimous ratification of three key mandate extensions of UN Security Council resolutions. On Monday, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the Foreign Secretary, presided over the Council’s deliberations on the Middle East peace process, particularly the Palestinian issue. India has steered UN Security Council debates and accepted three other significant mandate extensions on Mali sanctions, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon and Somalia.
The mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was extended for another year by a resolution passed by the UN Security Council. India is one of UNIFIL’s major troop contributors, having provided soldiers for the organization for the previous 21 years. Since October 2018, a Kazakhstan contingent has been deployed in UNIFIL alongside the Indian Battalion.
UNIFIL now has 862 Indian personnel on the ground. India has also shown its willingness to reinforce UNIFIL’s Marine Task Force (MTF), including sending a maritime component. The travel bans and asset freezes imposed by Resolution 2374 (2017) on people and companies that impeded the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali were extended until August 31, 2022.
Read also: UNSC resolution against terrorism in Afghanistan applies to J-e-M, L-e-T: Shringla
India maintains friendly ties with Mali and has provided USD 353.6 million in soft loans for various development projects in Mali, particularly the electricity industry. Under India’s Technical and Economic Cooperation training program, many training seats are available for Malian authorities. Mali is a member of the Duty-Free Trade Preference Scheme, which means it pays no duty on virtually all of its exports to India.
India also donated vital medications to Mali earlier this year to combat the Covid-19 epidemic. The resolution on UNSOM extends the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia’s term until May 31, 2022. Since its establishment in 2014, UNSOM has played a critical role in helping the Federal Government of Somalia’s peace and reconciliation process and extending support to the government and AMISOM as needed, including offering strategic policy guidance on peacebuilding and state-building.
Somalia is now going through a critical period. A democratic election that is peaceful, free, and fair is critical for Somalia’s future. UNSOM and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will play critical roles in this phase.
Read also: UNSC voices concerns over IS threat
Two millennia of shared history and culture bind India with Somalia. Despite the obstacles created by the COVID epidemic, India has been at the forefront of providing help to Somalia through various ways, including medical facilities, capacity-building initiatives, and scholarships. India also agreed to provide Special Drawing Rights to Somalia’s IMF debt reduction plan (SDR).
