Indian PM calls for cooperation with Africa in UN reforms, counter-terrorism

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for cooperation with Africa in the fields of counter-terrorism and UN reforms.

Addressing African leaders at an India-African summit here, Modi said the world was undergoing political, economic, technological and security transition on a scale and speed rarely seen in recent history.

"Yet our global institutions reflect the circumstances of the century that we left behind, not the one we are in today," he said while stressing the need for the reforms of the United Nations institutions.

"These institutions have served us well, but unless they adjust to the changing world, they risk becoming irrelevant. We cannot say what will replace them in an uncertain future," he said.

"That is why India and Africa must speak in one voice for reforms of the United Nations, including its Security Council," Modi added.

On counter-terrorism cooperation, he said in many parts of the world, "the light of a bright future flickers in the storm of violence and instability."

"When terror snuffs out life on the streets and beaches, and in malls and schools of Africa, we feel your pain as our own. And, we see the links that unite us against this threat (terrorism)," he said. Enditem