Harish further drew attention to the broader regional landscape, voicing India’s consistent commitment to peace and stability in Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
On Syria, he reaffirmed support for a “Syrian-led, Syrian-owned political process” and paid tribute to Brigadier General Amitabh Jha, who was killed in December 2024 while serving as Acting Force Commander of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). India, he noted, remains the third-largest troop contributor to UNDOF.
In Lebanon, where India is the second-largest contributor to UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon), Harish stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of peacekeepers and expressed hope that the Lebanese Armed Forces would assume full control once UNIFIL’s sunset clause takes effect in 2026.
Turning to Yemen, he called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” to enable the flow of humanitarian aid, asserting that such assistance “must be above politics.”
Concluding his address, Harish reflected India’s enduring faith in diplomacy, saying: “Peace and calm on the Palestinian front have implications for the wider region. Talks must continue — and there must be abiding faith in the efficacy of dialogue and diplomacy.”
With PTI inputs