Indian Diplomat Selected For United Nations Advisory Committee

Indian Diplomat Selected for United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. A significant victory for India at the United Nations has gone hand in hand.

Indian diplomat Vidisha Maitra has been elected to the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), an auxiliary organ of the General Assembly.

In the group of Asia-Pacific states, Maitra, the first secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, has received 126 votes.

Let the 193-member General Assembly appoint the members of the Advisory Committee. Members are selected on the basis of broad geographical representation, personal qualifications, and experience.

Maitra was one of the two nominees of the group of Asia-Pacific states. In the group, Ali Mohammed Fek al-Dabag of Iraq received 64 votes.

The Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, which deals with administrative and budgetary issues, recommended Maitra’s cooperation in the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term starting from January 1, 2021.

The victory came after India had agreed to sit on the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for a two-year term starting in January 2021.

India’s permanent representative at the United Nations, TS Tirumurthy, said in a video message that Maitra on Friday was selected amidst overwhelming support by UN member states at the United Nations ACABQ.

He expressed confidence that Maitra would ‘work with an independent, objective, and much-needed gender equality perspective in mind for the functioning of ACABQ’.

Thirumurthy thanked all the member states who had ‘supported India in this important election and rekindled confidence before the candidate Maitra’.

He said that the ACABQ ensures that fund contributions to the UN system are kept to good effect and that it is essentially funded. He said that India’s membership of ACABQ is particularly relevant when the pressure in the UN budget increases.

He further said that India has an excellent record of bringing professional auditing experience to the United Nations and contributing outstanding professionals to UN bodies.