Underlining that the world order built after the Second World War was under ‘serious stress’, India on Monday called for coordinated and concerted action across borders to tackle diverse challenges like terrorism, radicalisation, drug trafficking and organised crime.

“The world order that we built following the Second World War is under serious stress. The nature of threats faced by member states when the United Nations was founded 75 years ago has also changed.

 “Contemporary security challenges are not limited to territorial or political disputes, but transcend physical or political boundaries. In today’s globalized world, terrorism, radicalisation, drug trafficking and organised crime have a growing salience,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in his virtual address to the UNSC Open Debate on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations.

Stating that the security implications of new technologies cannot be disregarded. Jaishankar laid emphasis on coordinated and concerted action across borders to face the diverse challenges.

“We think that enhanced cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations will be an important factor in successfully addressing such contemporary challenges and conflicts,” he said.

 In that context, the Indian minister iterated that a rational evaluation of the cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-organizations during the last 75 years would provide a good basis for future engagements.

Pointing out that India has traditionally maintained close and friendly cooperation with regional organisations, Jaishankar referred to the country’s relations with ASEAN,  calling it “a key pillar’ of the country’s foreign policy and the foundation of its Act East Policy.

He highlighted India’s commitment to build on the momentum of regional cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework and make that organisation stronger, vibrant, and more effective and result oriented.

Articulating India’s  strong support for cooperation between the UN and regional organizations, he said the partnership was inevitable for “responding collectively, coherently, and decisively to effectively prevent, manage and resolve violent conflicts and promote peace and development”.