India to be central part of any UNSC reform, says U.S.
Thursday, 28 October 2010, 17:29 IST
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Washington: Inching closer towards endorsing New Delhi's bid for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, the U.S. has said India would be central part of any consideration of reform and expansion of the most powerful wing of the world body. "Given India's rise and its significance, we believe that India will be a central part of any consideration of a reformed Security Council," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns told reporters at a special White House news conference on India. "That's about as far as I'm going today," Burns said when sought more details on this issue. "The only thing I would say is, first, the U.S. recognises the significance of looking at ways to adapt international architecture, including the UN Security Council, to reflect the realities of the 21st century. We want to approach that challenge in a way that ensures the effectiveness - and hopefully strengthens the effectiveness - of the Security Council," he added. "We've, through the G20, through our focus on the G20 and some other bodies, already sought to give India a greater voice in global architecture - for instance, saying that the G8 can't deal with global economic issues as effectively as the G20," Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes said. "The reasoning behind that was because you need India at the table on those discussions, just as you need China and other emerging economies. On the Security Council, they are going to be a member, first of all, in terms of the next cycle, so we'll have an immediate opportunity to cooperate with them on the Security Council," Rhodes said. Early this month, India was elected as one of the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 2011.
Source: PTI
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