New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday expressed India's gratitude to the international diplomatic community based here for helping get Indian candidate Justice Dalveer Bhandari re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.


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Bhandari, 70, was on November 21 re-elected to the ICJ with more than two-thirds of the UN members backing him, forcing Britain to withdraw its candidate amidst high drama in the hard-fought race to the world court.


He received 183 of the 193 votes in the General Assembly and secured all 15 votes in the Security Council to fill the final vacancy on the Hague-based court after separate but simultaneous elections were held at the UN headquarters.


Stating that it was a historic moment, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that Swaraj, addressing the diplomatic corps in the national capital, "conveyed gratitude to the international diplomatic community for their support for election of Justice Dalveer Bhandari to ICJ".



Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday congratulated Bhandari saying: "His re-election is a proud moment for us".

Congratulating the efforts of the External Affairs Ministry officers, Swaraj had specifically complimented India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin.


Bhandari will start his term from February 2018.


(With PTI and IANS inputs)