Eliminating poverty India's biggest challenge, says Modi

New York, Sep 21 (IANS) India on Thursday urged the international community to work for complete elimination of poverty as part of the UN's 2030-deadlined Sustained Developments Goals.

"Complete elimination of poverty is the foremost objective of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said as the chair of the IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) Foreign Ministers' Meeting here on the sidelines of the 72nd UN General Assembly Session.

"(Indian) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship initiatives reinforce the spirit and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals," she added.

The IBSA Dialogue Forum brings together three large large economies from three continents as a purely South-South grouping of countries working on inclusive sustainable development.

Formalised and launched through the adoption of the Brasilia Declaration on June 6, 2003, it is aimed at recognising the necessity of a process of dialogue among developing nations and countries of the South.

Stressing on global economic equality, Sushma Swaraj said: "We firmly believe in the multilateral trading system that is fair, open and transparent with WTO (World Trade Organisation) at its centre."

She called upon the IBSA to "play its rightful role in shaping global discourses and share its wisdom with the world community".

Emphasising the focus on solar energy as a factor for economic development, Sushma Swaraj referred to India's initiative of forming the International Solar Alliance.

"Our path-breaking initiative for an International Solar Alliance is intended to make efficient solar technology available to all," she stated.

The International Solar Alliance, launched at the UN Conference of Parties (CoP) climate summit in Paris on November 30, 2015, by Prime Minister Modi and then French President Francois Hollande, is conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.

It is open to all 121 prospective member countries falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.