Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today emphasized the need for reforms in the UN Security Council and other key international organizations so as to make them reflective of contemporary realities and capable of dealing with contemporary challenges.

Addressing the first Plenary Session of the 13th ASEM Summit virtually from here, the Vice President said that the world is witnessing and grappling with rapid economic, technological, and security challenges today.

There is a need for reforms as the current multilateral system has fallen short in providing an effective response to these challenges, he said.

The two-day Summit inaugurated today is being hosted by Cambodia in a virtual format and is themed on “Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth.”

The Indian delegation at the ASEM-13 is led by the Vice President, who will be addressing the Retreat Session of the Summit also tomorrow.

Observing that without peace, development suffers, Naidu highlighted that the lack of development and stifled economic progress create fertile ground for violence and instability.

Therefore, he called for efforts towards promoting economic activity and enhancing livelihood security and suggested that it will go a long way in the recovery of nations adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stressing the need to mitigate the causes of persistent insecurity at a global level, the Vice President highlighted the need for reforms in the international structure responsible for maintaining global peace and security.

Opining that the multitude of challenges of today’s dynamic and interdependent world cannot be addressed with outdated systems that were designed to deal with the challenges of the past, Naidu expressed an urgent need to re-imagine international cooperation and expand its ambition further.

“It is the lack of a coordinated global response that has exposed the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the multilateral system as it stands today,” he said.

The Vice President said that the pandemic has exposed the fault lines from unreliable global supply chains to inequitable vaccine distribution, further underlining the need for global solidarity and strengthened multilateralism.

The Vice President congratulated all participating members on the 25 anniversary of the ASEM process which was established in the year 1996. Praising ASEM for bringing leaders and people from both continents together to resolve the issues of global concern, he reaffirmed India’s commitment to work towards strengthening the forces of cooperative multilateralism.