India engaged in peace-building via extensive development partnerships with Global South Countries: Military Advisor Colonel Ashish Bhalla

By R Anil Kumar

• India Reaffirms Commitment to Global Peacebuilding at UN General Assembly

• Colonel Ashish Bhalla emphasized India’s pivotal role in peacekeeping and peacebuilding at the United Nations General Assembly. Highlighting India’s development partnerships and substantial investments, Bhalla outlined the need for a collaborative, forward-thinking approach to contemporary peacebuilding challenges

UNITED NATIONS, July 17. India has always played a key role in both peacekeeping and peacebuilding, with its engagement in peace-building through extensive development partnerships with countries in the Global South, military advisor Colonel Ashish Bhalla said on Wednesday, July 17 (local time) at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Delivering India’s statement at the Joint Debate on the ‘Report of the Peacebuilding Commission’ (PBC), Col. Bhalla said, “The commission’s emphasis on education as a prevention and resilience-building mechanism underscores progressive outlook towards peace-building education is a key component for building and sustaining peace. India has always played an important role in both peacekeeping and peacebuilding.”

“We have engaged in peace-building through extensive development partnerships with countries in the Global South,” he added.

He noted that the cumulative value of India’s developmental projects now exceeds USD 40 billion. It encompasses soft loans, grants and capacity-building training programs.

Col. Bhalla described the Peace Building Commission Report of 2023 as a testimony to the positive initiatives taken by the commission. He stated that the “forward-looking agenda is well-designed” to address peace-building challenges and sustain peace in contemporary conflict settings.

“The emphasis on regional maritime security, transnational organized crime, and terrorism brings the right perspective to peacebuilding. We believe these gains need to be consolidated with more discussion,” he said adding that the main purpose of the Peace Building Commission is to bring together all relevant actors to promote post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery.

“To this end, we appreciate the work of the Peace Building Commission in its support of regional peace initiatives, including the International Conference on the Great Lakes region-led Luanda process and the East Africa community-led Nairobi process,” Bhalla said.

“We also appreciate the PBC’s sustained focus on key issues such as the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in decision-making and political processes, advancing inclusive security sector reforms, as well as advancing the institutionalization of the peace and security agenda,” the Indian Military Advisor added while delivering the statement.

He also congratulated Croatia for its leadership of the Peacebuilding Commission last year and Brazil for how the country has led the commission so far this year.

“I would like to highlight the India UN Development Partnership Fund, established in 2017, as a testament to India’s unwavering commitment to multilateralism and global development,” Col Bhalla underlined.

“In just five years, the fund has supported 75 south-owned, south-led development projects in partnership with 56 developing countries chair. Our experience in peacebuilding, both bilateral as well as through the PBC, guides us to put forth the following observations.

First, PBC has no direct conflict prevention mandate or role. What it has perhaps is an implied role in not permitting a relapse of conflict,” he went on to say.

Col. Bhalla highlighted the need for correction of substantive settings, including climate change.

“We need to avoid duplication of the role of other UN organs, and public entities third, PBCs’ role in marshalling resources for post-conflict recovery remains critical,” he said.

“I assure you of India’s sustained commitment to the purposes of peacebuilding, and we look forward to engaging constructively in the forthcoming peacebuilding architecture review,” Col Bhalla said, concluding his remarks at the General Assembly.