India essential component of multipolar world: UN Secretary General
New Delhi, Oct 2 : Multilateralism has not been under so much fire as it is today and India will be the essential component if the world has to become multipolar, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.
He called for a global response to climate change and terrorism, which he said were the two biggest challenges the world was facing.
A multilateral approach was needed to meet challenges and threats which were becoming more and more global in nature, Guterres said while delivering a lecture on "Global Challenges, Global Solutions" here.
"But the paradox is that never in recent times was multilateralism under so much fire and never, as in recent times, was a rule-based international community being put under fire," he said.
He said the world ceased to be bipolar after the end of the Cold War and turned unipolar, but today's world "is a kind of a chaotic world".
"The world has to be multipolar and India has a key role to play... No country is better placed for this than India," Guterres said.
He added that India's assertiveness on the global platform was a key element.
His remarks assume significance in the face of US President Donald Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement and withdrawal of international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, and imposing new trade tariffs on countries like India and China.
Regarding the challenge of climate change, Guterres said India had already been impacted through droughts and floods.
He said if the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, in which India played a key role, were not met, then the world would be in a catastrophic situation.
Stressing on the necessity for solar and wind energy, Guterres said India, despite its problems, had to play a key role in the fight against climate change and to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
India is targeting to generate 175 GW of electricity from renewable sources of energy by 2022, of which 100 GW will be from solar power. It has already achieved 20 GW installed solar power.
Asked about reforms in the UN, Guterres said it cannot happen till there were no reforms in the UN Security Council (UNSC), adding it was for the five permanent members to do so.
India, Japan, Germany and Brazil are seeking permanent membership in an expanded UNSC to reflect the face of today's world.
Guterres is on a visit to India to take part in a series of events on climate change and Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary celebrations.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
