Modi calls for change in UN Security Council

The Associated Press reports: “Xi and others spoke as the United Nations gathering began to shift focus from development to the high-powered General Assembly meeting that begins Monday with speeches by Xi, [President Obama], Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the first morning alone”.

“They are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success”, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after an opening ceremony with performances by Colombian singer Shakira and Benin’s Angelique Kidjo, United Nations goodwill ambassadors.

“Looking around the world, the peace and development remain the two major themes of the times”, the Chinese leader said at the summit in New York.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha joined an interactive dialogue summit session on ending poverty and hunger and addressed Thailand’s approaches to sustainable development.

Xi said that the global development should not be development of any single country.

“Industrialised nations want a deal in Paris that includes commitments on emissions from all countries – including China and India – and not just the developed world”, he said.

Over the past 60-plus years, China has provided 166 countries and worldwide organizations with almost 400 billion yuan (about 63 billion dollars) worth of assistance, and dispatched over 600,000 aid workers, over 700 of whom have laid down their lives in helping the development of other countries, he said.

In addition, China will exempt the debt of the outstanding intergovernmental interest-free loans due by the end of 2015 owed by the relevant LDCs, landlocked developing countries and small island developing countries, the president said. “In a sense, September 26th is even more important than September 25th”, he told dozens of global business leaders from companies including Google, Unilever, Siemens and Sinopec. “Let us work together over the next 15 years to make their vision a reality for all people in all countries”.

Critics say they are too broad, lack accountability and will lead to disenchantment among those in the world most in need.

The 35-page United Nations text outlining the post-2015 development agenda is available.

“Facing with various challenges and difficulties, we must keep hold of the key of the development”. The Mediterranean country has become home to more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees – about a third of Lebanon’s native population.