India's entry into the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member has kicked off a flurry of consultations with the world powers over issues related to the powerful world body, including its reforms, under which New Delhi is seeking permanent membership.
'The expansion of the Security Council should be seen in the context of overall reforms of the United Nations, which would make it more effective and efficient and give strong legitimacy to its decisions.'
After a gap of 19 years, India was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, a position which would help it push more aggressively for the reform of the world body's top organ. India secured an emphatic win, with 187 of the 191 member states in the General Assembly backing its candidature and one member state abstaining from the vote.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday said he views the current situation in Ukraine as an issue of humanity and human values and not of politics or economy even as he called for respecting international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
"Time has come for Pakistan to decide in its own interests. We will do what's in Pakistan's interests," Qureshi told Geo TV in an interview.
Elections for the five non-permanent members of the 15-nation Council for the 2021-22 term will be held around June next year.
At a critical time in the history of the United Nations, when the global order itself may be reshaped, following a devastating pandemic, India has chosen an experienced, charming and upright diplomat to lead the Indian delegation to the UN in New York.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti, made the remarks while speaking at a special flag installation ceremony organised at the Security Council stakeout here on Monday. Flags of the five new incoming non-permanent members of the Security Council - India, Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico - were installed at the stakeout during the special ceremony.
Real negotiations to reform the United Nations Security Council, for which India, Japan, Germany and Brazil have been pressing for a long time, may begin this year to meet demands to enlarge the top world body and include these countries as permanent members.
India said the prevailing architecture of the UN Security Council has proved to be grossly inadequate in effectively dealing with current challenges such as the conflicts in the Middle East and the rise of ISIS as it called for urgent reform of the UN body.
China has signalled that it will prevent India from assuming leadership of the Global South, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for deeper ties in key areas of counter-terrorism, climate change and UN reforms.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Saran said there was considerable sentiment in African countries which recognised that the biggest beneficiary of Security Council reforms would be Africa.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived on Monday night on his way back home from New York after concluding a five-day visit during which he attended the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly.
The United Nations General Assembly today elected Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela as the new non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning in January next year.
External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh maintained that India will demand veto power if it gets the permanent seat in the Security Council.
India has been at the forefront of efforts at the UN to push for urgent long-pending reform of the Security Council, emphasising that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member.
Amid growing global concerns over terrorism, India will seek early establishment of a United Nations convention on combating the scourge at the upcoming UN General Assembly session
India asked NAM nations to adopt a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism while strongly pitching for a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council and global financial institutions to ensure greater say for developing countries.
Sounding positive to United States President Barack Obama's endorsement of India's bid for permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, China on Tuesday said it understands New Delhi's "aspirations" to play a bigger role in the UN and is ready for consultations with it over reform of the world body.
Hosting a summit of leaders of Germany, Japan and Brazil under the G-4 format, the PM said the UNSC "must include the world's largest democracies, major locomotives of the global economy, and voices from all the major continents" to carry "greater credibility and legitimacy".
Sharma was confident that New Delhi would occupy its rightful place on the UNSC.
Early reform of the United Nations Security Council, terrorism and peacekeeping will be among the main issues that India will pursue during the world body's General Assembly session, Indian ambassador to the UN has said.
The Biden administration has reaffirmed its commitment to support India's permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council and New Delhi's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group.
The issue of veto came up for discussion during the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi, who is on a two-day visit to India, in New Delhi.
Sushma in her address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers meeting said that terrorism is an enemy of basic human rights.
'Antonio Guterres takes over as the UN secretary-general with tremendous goodwill as the process of his election was without the usual horse trading and compromises.' 'We have every reason to believe that he will be sensitive to Indian positions,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The talks between the two leaders covered the entire gamut of bilateral ties as well as key regional and global issues, including the Ukraine conflict.
India has slammed the "indifference" of some UNSC towards restraining terrorists, saying it has questioned the Security Council's ability to combat terrorism.
India and Brazil on Wednesday called for urgent progress in reforms of the UN Security Council, as they agreed to scale up bilateral ties and deepen cooperation in international fora.
The agenda is to give a concrete shape to a Development Bank and pitch for reforms of the UN Security Council.
In a post on X, Modi said, "Happy to have welcomed @POTUS @JoeBiden to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Our meeting was very productive."
India will sit in the 15-nation United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-22 term as a non-permanent member - the eighth time that the country has had a seat on the powerful horseshoe table.
Pakistan has objected to the exclusion of Jammu and Kashmir from a list of disputes under the observation of the Security Council in a speech made by UK's top diplomat in an annual debate on UNSC reforms in New York.
India, which has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UNSC, began its two-year tenure at the Council on Friday last.
India and China have resolved the stand-off at the Ladakh border and withdrawal of troops will begin on Friday and be completed by September 30, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said describing the resolution of the issue as a "big accomplishment."
At a joint media briefing with Lavrov, Jaishankar listed issues such as "factors of instability" such as terrorism and its cross-border manifestation and said it remains a "major concern".
Delivering a thinly veiled message to Pakistan from its soil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said activities across borders characterised by the 'three evils' of terrorism, extremism and separatism are unlikely to encourage trade, energy flows and connectivity.
Modi, who met Putin last week on the sidelines of the 22nd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan's Samarkand, had told the Russian leader that "today's era is not of war".
