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Taking over from France, India assumed the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August.
India will organize two more meetings during its presidency, on peacekeeping and counterterrorism, said its Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti.
Today's debate titled 'Enhancing Maritime Security - A Case for International Cooperation', began at 5:30 pm via video conferencing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was among world leaders expected to participate in the debate helmed by PM Modi, reported news agency ANI.
The debate, broadcast live on the United Nations Security Council website, focused on ways to effectively counter maritime crime and insecurity and strengthened coordination in the maritime domain.
This was the first time that maritime security was discussed as an exclusive agenda item in such a high level open debate.
In 2015, PM Modi put forward the vision of SAGAR - an acronym for 'Security and Growth for all in the Region'. It focused on cooperative measures for sustainable use of the oceans, and provides a framework for a safe, secure, and stable maritime domain in the region.
In 2019, at the East Asia Summit, this initiative was further elaborated through the Indo-Pacific Oceans' Initiative (IPOI) with a focus on seven pillars of maritime security.
This is India's tenth tenure at the UN Security Council. 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.
The Council, said Mr Tirumurti, plans several important meetings, including those with representatives of Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, and other countries of the middle-east.
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