Manmohan asks UN to meet global challenges collectively

United Nations: Calling upon the UN to once again embrace the principles of internationalism to meet global challenges from economic downturn to terrorism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Saturday said India stands ready to play its part.

"We have no choice but to meet these challenges," he said addressing the United Nations General Assembly. "We will succeed if we adopt a cooperative rather than a confrontationist approach."

"More importantly, we will succeed if our efforts have legitimacy and are pursued not just within the framework of law, but also the spirit of law," Manmohan Singh said asserting that actions taken under the authority of the UN "must respect the unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of individual states".

Among the key challenges facing the comity of nations, the peimw minister identified a troubled world economy, terrorism social and political upheaval in West Asia and North Africa, the still unresolved Palestinian question and iniquitous growth.