The first project is on Climate Early Warning System in Pacific Island Countries.
India and the UN Office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) have launched a fund to help the poorest counties improve quality of life and achieve United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The “India-UN Development Partnership Fund”, launched on Thursday, will focus on least developed countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the IANS news agency reported.
Announcing the launch on twitter, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbarddin said that the fund’s first project is on Climate Early Warning System in Pacific Island Countries (CEWSPIC).
He also shared a video that includes statements from UN Secretary General, UNOSSC director Jorge Chediek. “I congratulate the government of India on its strengthened partnership with the United Nations system through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund. South-South cooperation is a powerful tool as we advance, together,
towards the Sustainable Development Goals and fulfil the promise to leave no one behind,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in his statement.
“India’s approach to our partnership across the globe is the one that can be encapsulated with the term Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which means the whole world is one family. The South-South corporation for us is a long held tradition, but for the first time we are working with the United Nations on a project which is diplomatic of our times,” Akbaruddin said in his message.
India’s minister of State for External Affairs was also present for the launch and said that “The health of the oceans will determine the health of our planet.”
The CEWSPIC project was jointly developed by India and the UN Development Program (UNDP) for seven countries such as the Cook Island, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru the Solomon Islands and Tonga.
The project seeks an early warning system for extreme weather conditions related to el Nino, the periodic warm ocean currents that seriously impact the climate system. The board of directors comprise Indian and United Nations officials, among them Joint
Secretary for UN Economic and Social Division in the External Affairs Ministry Manish Chauhan, India’s Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal and Jorge Chediek.