'I entered the race because of my devotion to UN'

India's candidate for the post of the UN Secretary General Shashi Tharoor has withdrawn from the race for the top UN post after coming second behind South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon in the final straw poll on Monday. Following is the statement issued by Tharoor announcing the same:

'I have just written to Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon to express my warmest congratulations on the outcome of the poll in the Security Council. It is clear that he will be our next Secretary-General.

'It is a great honour and a huge responsibility to be Secretary-General, and I wish Ban every success in that task.

'I entered the race because of my devotion to the United Nations, and for the same reason I will strongly support him as the next Secretary-General. The UN, and the world, has a stake in his success.

'Throughout this process, I have been sustained by my strong faith in the values and principles

of the United Nations, in its achievements and its potential, and in the quality and dedication of its staff around the world.

'It has been a privilege to articulate and defend my vision of this indispensable organization, to which I have devoted so much of my professional life. I should like to express my gratitude to the Government of India for having nominated me as its official candidate.

'Though I have never been an official of the government, I consider it a great honour to have been the bearer of India's nomination, as well as of the hopes and aspirations of so many well-wishers in India and around the world.

'I have been humbled by the support, good wishes and prayers that they have conveyed to me. Although I did not win the race, it is a matter of genuine pride to me that I was deemed worthy by so many people and won the votes of so many governments.

'I thank you all, and I pledge that whatever task I next undertake, I will endeavour to live up to the faith and trust that so many have expressed in me.'