New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to preside over a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on "Enhancing maritime security: A Case For International Cooperation".

Key points of PM Modi's speech at UNSC:

• Oceans are our shared heritage, and our maritime routes are the lifelines of international trade. These oceans are very important for the future of our planet.
• This shared heritage of ours (oceans) is facing several types of challenges. Maritime routes are being misused for piracy and terrorism.
• We should remove barriers to maritime trade. Our prosperity depends on the active flow of maritime trade and barriers in this path can pose a challenge to the entire global economy. Free maritime trade is associated with the culture of India for time immemorial.
• Thirdly- responsible maritime connectivity should be encouraged. Fourth is the need to collectively combat maritime threats posed by non-state actors and natural calamities. And last but not least, we have to preserve the maritime environment and maritime resources.
• For maritime security, I would like to put forth 5 basic principles...1) Free maritime trade sans barriers so as to establish legitimate trade. 2) Settlement of maritime disputes should be peaceful and based on international law only.
• We want to make an inclusive framework on maritime security in our region based on the vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region). This vision is for a safe, secure, and stable maritime domain

India has taken over United Nations Security Council Presidency for August. India will organise three high-level signature meetings during the presidency focusing on our priority areas–maritime security, peacekeeping, and counter-terrorism.

The last time an Indian PM was engaged in this effort was the then PM PV Narasimha Rao in 1992 when he attended a UNSC meeting.