NEW DELHI: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday asserted that it is ‘impossible’ to build a multipolar world without a very relevant role of India.“India is becoming a fundamental pillar of multilateralism, and at the same time, as we want a multipolar world, it is impossible to build a multipolar world without a very relevant role of India,” Guterres said at the inaugural ceremony of the UN House in New Delhi.
Guterres, who arrived Sunday, first paid floral tributes to Bapu at Rajghat before attending the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre. He was joined by PM Narendra Modi, who launched a medley version of ‘Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye’ — Gandhi’s favourite bhajan — sung by artists from over 40 countries. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation Uma Bharti and other prominent personalities attended
the event. Guterres also held a personal meeting with Modi, before leaving for the India Habitat Centre to deliver a lecture on ‘Global Challenges, Global Solutions’.
In the evening, he met with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and then reached Vigyan Bhavan to jointly inaugurate India’s flagship renewable energy event ‘2nd RE-INVEST, the First Assembly of the International Solar Alliance and the second meeting of Indian Ocean Rim Association.
On Wednesday, Guterres will attend the Champions of the Earth Ceremony, which recognises outstanding environmental change-makers. He will then meet Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj at Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan before leaving for Amritsar. The UN chief will return late Wednesday and leave for New York on Thursday.
Amritsar visit
When Guterres visits the Golden Temple on Wednesday, he will be the first UN chief to do so. The Golden Temple is one of the holiest sites in India.