Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font joins a long list of world leaders demanding India be given permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council, UNSC.
Discussing the general debate of the 79th Session of the General Assembly of the UN in New York, Font actually made a call for reform in the United Nations, arguing that "the world has changed a lot" since 1945 when 51 countries, including Chile, took the transcendental step of establishing the United Nations.
I listened attentively this morning to the UN Secretary General, President Lula of Brazil and President Biden of the United States explicitly expressing their agreement to reform the council according to today's times. Who or what is preventing it? Is there anyone in this assembly who opposes it?"- Font asked himself during his speech.
"From Chile, I propose that we set a deadline for reform and that when the UN turns 80, it does so with a Security Council in line with the course of current times, in which Brazil from Latin America, India, at least one country from Africa, among others, are part. There is nothing that prevents it, except the lack of our own will," he added.
On Sunday, after his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Delaware, US President Joe Biden, while expressing his immense appreciation for India's leadership at the world stage, reaffirmed that Washington will remain a "full supporter" of India's permanent membership at UNSC.
President Biden told Prime Minister Modi that the United States supports initiatives to reform global institutions to reflect India's important voice, including permanent membership for India in a reformed UN Security Council, as per the Joint Fact Sheet on India-US Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership released after the two leaders met.
As for this, however, taking into account the developing multipolar world order, Russia has also continuously been in favor of permanent representation for India at the UN Security Council.
Wednesday, as he arrived in New York to join the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov again repeated what has become almost a habit and advocated a more expansive Security Council composed of new members from among the developing countries, and India is part of that list.
Moscow would welcome the legal right of India, Brazil, and one of African countries to become permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Russian news agency Tass.
"Developing countries are under-represented in the Security Council, so, as we have always been saying, we support India and Brazil's interest and legitimate aspiration to be included in the Security Council," the top Russian diplomat said. "However, it is also necessary to satisfy African hopes. There are shared collective positions in Africa which we respect," he noted.
