“India strongly supports the principle of regional rotation under which the next Secretary-General should be from Asia,” a spokesman for the External Affairs Ministry said here today.Presently, the UN Under Secretary-General (Communications), Mr Tharoor has been nominated on the basis of his impeccable credentials and commitment to developing countries.
There has been speculation about Mr Tharoor being a strong candidate for the top job in the UN and is believed to have met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a few times in this regard in the past six months.
“It is a matter of pride that the son of India and Asia should be the next UN Secretary-General,” the spokesman said.
India had approached other Asian groups within the UN and other regional blocs, including Africa, to support Mr Tharoor’s candidature. Other members of the UN have been informed of India’s choice through diplomatic channels.
The election to the post will be held in October and the Security Council’s process of empanelling probable candidates to succeed the outgoing chief Kofi Annan gets under way by the middle of next month.
Named as the “Global leader of tomorrow” at the World Economic Forum in Davos six years ago in 1998, Mr Tharoor began his career with the UN in 1978 by being a member of the UNHCR and headed it in Singapore from 1981-84 during the crisis connected with the Vietnamese boat people.
He has headed the UN’s Department of Public Information since January 2001 and oversees the world body’s communications strategy in disseminating the UN’s underlying message.
