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Extract from Press
briefing
by Official Spokesperson
of Ministry of External Affairs
Good Evening. I have a
number of issues from my side to talk about. First,
an announcement…
India strongly supports the principle of regional
rotation under which the next Secretary General of
the United Nations should be from Asia. The Asian
Group within the UN had approached other Groups,
seeking their support for this principle, and the
African Group has already confirmed its support. We
hope that other regional groups would also
articulate support for the rotational principle.
India also believes that a prospective UN Secretary
General should have impeccable credentials, be
acceptable to the broadest possible membership of
the UN and have a strong commitment to the reform of
the UN and the interests of the developing
countries.
It is in this framework that India has decided to
announce the candidature of Mr. Shashi Tharoor,
Under Secretary General for Communications and
Public Information at the United Nations. Mr.
Tharoor, an Indian national, is a distinguished son
of Asia, who has served the UN in diverse capacities
since 1978. During his long innings at the UN, Mr.
Tharoor has held a number of key positions in
various areas including peacekeeping, UNHCR and UN’s
communications strategy, with particular
responsibility for ensuring the coherence and
effectiveness of the United Nations’ external
message. Mr. Tharoor has been closely involved in
the process of the reform of the United Nations.
Mr. Tharoor is a well-known writer.
He is the author of eight books, as well as numerous
articles, op-eds and literary reviews in a wide
range of publications. He is also the recipient of
several journalism and literary awards, including a
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.
In January 1998, Mr. Tharoor, was named by the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as a “Global
Leader of Tomorrow”. Mr. Tharoor is an elected
Fellow of the New York Institute of the Humanities
and a member of the Advisory Board of the
Indo-American Arts Council.
Born in London in 1956. Mr. Tharoor was educated in
India and the United States, completing a PhD in
1978 at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at
Tufts University, where he also earned two Master’s
Degrees. He was awarded the honorary degree of
Doctor of Letters in International Affairs by the
University of Puget Sound, United States.
Mr. Shashi Tharoor’s internationally acclaimed
stature and experience make him eminently suitable
to become the next Secretary General of the United
Nations.
India has informed, through diplomatic channels,
other member states of the United Nations of its
nomination of Mr. Shashi Tharoor’s candidature and
requested their support.
New Delhi,
June 15, 2006 |
