India thanked France for successfully guiding the UN Security Council in July.
India today assumed the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August. It has several important items on its agenda for the world body's functioning under this period, especially those focusing on areas of its core interests.
This is India's tenth tenure. So far it has been President of the body nine times: June 1950, September 1967, December 1972, October 1977, February 1985, October 1991, December 1992, August 2011, and November 2012.
Flagging off its tenure, India thanked France, its immediate predecessor in the position, for leading the Council in July.
"During our Presidency in August, India is organising three high-level signature meetings, focusing on our priority areas: maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism," India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, said in a video message straight from the Security Council.
"India will also be organising a solemn event in the memory of peacekeepers," he said.
The Council, he said, plans several important meetings, including those with representatives of Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, and other countries of the middle-east.
"I'm confident that India's Presidency will contribute to strengthening international peace and security further," Ambassador Tirumurti said.
He thanked France for heading the Security Council in July and supporting India in its role in the world body.
Expressing happiness over India taking over the Security Council Presidency, the French Ambassador in New Delhi, Emmanuel Lenain, said his country would work with India in tackling several issues faced by the world today.
"Delighted that India is today taking over #UNSC presidency from France. We are committed to working with India on strategic issues as maritime security, peacekeeping & counter-terrorism, and upholding a rules-based, multilateral system to face today's many ongoing crises," Ambassador Lenain tweeted.