NaturalResources – India Urges Fair Resource Sharing to Strengthen Global Peace and Stability
NaturalResources – India has urged countries to adopt fair and transparent systems for managing natural resources, stressing that equitable distribution of benefits can help promote peace, economic growth, and long-term regional stability.
India has called for a more balanced approach to the governance of natural resources, highlighting that communities living in resource-rich regions should receive a fair share of the wealth generated from those assets. Addressing a High-Level Open Debate of the United Nations Security Council on Natural Resources Governance: the Foundation of Peace, Security and Prosperity, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, said that responsible resource management is essential to preventing instability and ensuring sustainable development.
India Highlights Fair Distribution of Resource Wealth
Speaking during the debate, Ambassador Harish said governments have a responsibility to ensure that provinces rich in oil, gas, minerals, rare earth elements, and precious metals benefit directly from the resources found within their territories. According to him, these areas often provide livelihoods for local communities and therefore deserve an equitable share of the economic gains generated through extraction and development.
He noted that failure to distribute these benefits fairly can create social tensions and security challenges that extend beyond national borders. Such imbalances, he said, may contribute to instability within countries while also affecting neighbouring regions. Harish added that similar concerns have been witnessed in different parts of the world, including India’s broader neighbourhood.
Development Should Remain the Primary Goal
The Indian envoy underlined that natural resources should serve as a foundation for sustainable economic progress rather than becoming a source of conflict. He stressed that countries should manage these assets in line with the principles of the United Nations Charter while ensuring that development reaches local populations.
Harish said India supports stronger international collaboration to curb the illegal exploitation of natural resources and improve governance systems where assistance is sought. He also emphasised the importance of creating responsible and resilient supply chains capable of supporting long-term economic stability without encouraging unlawful extraction or environmental harm.
According to India’s position, international cooperation should focus on helping countries strengthen institutional capacity so that natural resources contribute to shared prosperity instead of becoming drivers of unrest.
Concerns Over Underdeveloped Resource-Rich Regions
Ambassador Harish warned that regions blessed with abundant natural resources but lacking basic development often become vulnerable to insecurity. He explained that poor infrastructure, weak governance, and limited economic opportunities can create conditions that fuel unrest and make such areas susceptible to outside interference.
He observed that instability in these regions frequently attracts cross-border intervention and illegal extraction activities by external actors. Such developments, he said, can deepen the grievances of local communities while worsening existing security concerns. The resulting instability may spread beyond national frontiers and have wider regional consequences.
Balanced Governance Needed for Lasting Stability
The Indian representative also cautioned against relying solely on security-based responses in resource-rich areas facing unrest. He said that an excessive focus on militarised governance without addressing development challenges can aggravate existing problems instead of resolving them.
Harish advocated a balanced strategy that combines transparent governance, inclusive economic growth, and community participation. Such an approach, he said, would help transform natural resources into instruments of peace and prosperity rather than sources of conflict.
India reiterated that the global community should work collectively to ensure that resource wealth supports sustainable development, strengthens institutions, and improves the well-being of local populations. The country’s intervention at the UN reflected its broader view that fair resource governance is essential for lasting peace, regional security, and inclusive economic progress.