The Indian candidate has been elected in a very close race to a key UN committee that controls the financial and budgetary money of the world body.
Vidisha Maitra, a career diplomat who currently holds the position of First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in New York, was elected as a member of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs (CCAAP) by 126 votes to 64 votes .
Maitra was the candidate from India for the only seat on the Asia Pacific Group committee, and the other candidate was from Iraq.
India has been a member of the committee since its inception in 1946. A seat on the committee is considered one of the most coveted positions in the United Nations system.
New Delhi’s victory in these elections is also crucial, as India will begin a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council next year.
ACABQ performs several key functions, including reviewing the budget submitted by the United Nations Secretary-General to the General Assembly and advising the General Assembly on administrative and budgetary matters.
The committee also plays a crucial role in ensuring that member states’ resources are used effectively and that UN mandates are properly funded.
Members of the CCAAP are elected by the 193 member states in the General Assembly on the basis of broad geographic representation, personal qualifications, and experience, and serve for a term of three years.
The members of the CCAAP also serve in a personal capacity and not as representatives of the member states.
Before being sent to New York, Maitra held various positions in the ministry of foreign affairs in New Delhi and in the Indian missions in Paris, Port Louis and New York for the past 11 years.
He has extensive experience in research and strategic policy planning, defense procurement matters, formulation and implementation of infrastructure and development assistance projects, international taxation issues, and investment and trade promotion.
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