NEWDELHI: The adoption of June 21 as the International Yoga Day by the UN signifies the support that recent diplomatic endeavours of the government have evoked on the world stage, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Monday.
"In the history of the United Nations, this is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any resolution of this nature," Sushma Swaraj said while making a suo motu statement on the issue in both houses of Parliament.
The UN last week adopted June 21 as the International Yoga Day following a proposal for the same by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his UN General Assembly address in September.
Sushma Swaraj said: "While on one hand, we consistently advocate a proactive and innovative approach for making India and the greater South Asian region more prosperous, at the same time, we are thinking and acting on new measures to project India's soft power- the unparalleled cultural richness, diversity and uniqueness of India and its people."
She said an unprecedented 177 of the total 193 member states of the UN co-sponsored a resolution on the International Yoga Day.
"In the history of the United Nations, this is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any resolution of this nature," Sushma Swaraj said.
"Co-sponsorship', quite simply, meant that these countries not just supported India, but expressed their public willingness to own the initiative as well," she added.
"The list of co-sponsors was wide, all encompassing and a triumph of Indian diplomacy - from the P-5 to the Small Island States of the Pacific; from the heart of Africa to nearly the whole of Europe; from most of our South Asian neighbours to our distant friends in the Caribbean and Latin America, all in one voice stood up in our support.
"The sheer number of supporters as well as the smooth adoption also symbolises the strong international support that the recent diplomatic endeavours of our government have evoked on the world stage," she said while decribing it a "new breakthrough" in Indian diplomacy.
Terming these as a critical part of "a new India's breakthrough diplomacy", the external affairs minister said: "From Make in India to Swachh Bharat and now International Yoga Day they are all small steps in our journey to ensure a vibrant, happy and prosperous India, whose imprint and influence are felt far beyond our own shores."
Prior to this, the UN, in 2007, had adopted India's resolution to observe Oct. 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, as the International Day of Non-Violence.
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