Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday commended the efforts of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and foreign ministry officials for the re-election of Dalveer Bhandari to the International Court of Justice.
“Our deep gratitude to all the members of UNGA as well as UNSC for their support and trust in India,” Modi said in a tweet.
Bhandari was re-elected to the United Nations’ principal judicial wing on Monday after Britain pulled out of the race. Bhandari and Britain’s Christopher Greenwood were both eyeing the last seat at the world court in Hague. Bhandari got 183 of the 193 votes in the United Nations General Assembly and all the 15 votes of the Security Council.
Swaraj also congratulated Bhandari and tweeted, “Vande Matram – India wins election to the International Court of Justice. JaiHind.”
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah congratulated Swaraj and Modi for their efforts and called the win a “huge diplomatic win” and was a reflection of a “strong and decisive” leadership.
The United Kingdom promised to work closely with India at the United Nations and globally, PTI reported. Matthew Rycroft, Britain’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that his country decided to withdraw Greenwood’s candidature because it thought it was “wrong to continue to take up the valuable time of the Security Council and the UN General Assembly” with further rounds of elections.
“We are naturally disappointed, but it was a competitive field with six strong candidates,” Rycroft said. “If the UK could not win in this run-off, then we are pleased that it is a close friend like India that has done so instead.”
Some reactions from Indian leaders:
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