India to recharge bid for UN Security Council seat
By IANSFriday, September 17, 2010
NEW DELHI - India is set to accelerate its diplomatic effort for reform of the UN Security Council as External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna gears up to meet his counterparts from other G4 countries, including Japan, Brazil and Germany, and those of other multi-nation groupings to seek their support.
Krishna leaves for New York Saturday on a 10-day visit during which he will represent India at high-segment meetings of the 65th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and other associated events.
The G4 foreign ministers are expected to meet on the sidelines of the UNGA next week to review the progress in their campaign and rejig their strategy for accelerating the long-dragging reforms of the UN Security Council.
The meetings come at a hopeful moment for India as it readies to get elected to a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for 2011-12 in October with an overwhelming majority. If all goes well for New Delhi, India will be in the Security Council for a two-year term as a non-permanent member from Jan 1, 2011 — the first time in 19 years it will get the prized seat.
With barely days to go before the UN General Assembly decides on India’s bid for a non-permanent seat Oct 1, Krishna will be networking extensively and address multi-nation groupings, including G-77 foreign ministers meeting on Sept 24, the SAARC foreign ministers’ gathering Sept 29, and the meetings of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) and RIC (Russia, India and China).
In a positive development for India, some of the countries in the United for Consensus, informally called Coffee Club, who were opposed to the G4 bid, are now backing India’s claim for a permanent seat.
Many countries in the Coffee Club did not have problems with India’s candidature, but were hostile to their rivals in the G4 grouping. Pakistan opposed India’s bid, Mexico opposed Brazil’s candidature, and Italy was dead set against Brazil’s UN ambitions.
Now, many of the Coffee Club countries are backing India for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council, an indication that many of them will finally veer around to supporting India for a permanent seat as well.
