New Delhi, Feb. 12: Mr Hardeep Singh Puri, the permanent representative of India to the United Nations in New York, detected the error of the external affairs minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, soon after the minister had finished reading the initial few lines which contained references to the dignitaries present on the occasion, but by the time he could bring it to the notice of Mr Krishna the minister had read out a few more lines.
“On a more personal note, allow me to express my profound satisfaction regarding the happy coincidence of having two members of the Portuguese speaking countries Brazil and Portugal together here today,” Mr Krishna said, possibly thinking it fit because Brazil holds the current presidency of the Security Council. He also said, among other things, that the “European Union is also responding in this manner in coordination with the United Nations”.
For its part, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has clarified that the initial parts of all formal addresses contain salutation and courteous references, and Mr Krishna used such expressions from the address of the previous speaker before moving to his prepared text for substantive remarks. “The minister went on to make a well-received statement where he highlighted the relevance of the Indian success story to international efforts to meet the challenges of development, peace and security,” it noted.