India can change the world: Espinosa

India’s success in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals can change the face of the world, UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa has said, describing the country as a “very important player” of the multilateral system.

Espinosa said she is very much looking forward to engaging and working together with India under her presidency of the 193-member UN General Assembly.

“India is indeed a very important player of the mul­tilateral system. It is a friendly country to the United Nations. If India succeeds in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda – we are talking about 1.3 billion people – this really can change the face of the world,” she said.

Espinosa, Ecuador’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, was in June elected president of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, becoming only the fourth female president of the organisation in its 73-year history.