Union minister of state for the external affairs ministry V Muraleedharan while addressing the Parliament said that the government has noted the opposition to India’s bid to be included as a permanent member in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Muraleedharan told parliamentarians that India is prioritising multipolarity, rebalancing, fair globalisation and reformed multilateralism in global governance but there are some nations who are opposed to these initiatives.

“A group of countries is opposed to any expansion in the permanent category of membership, and calls for consensus to be arrived at for any reforms in the Security Council. Given the diversity of opinion on the nature and scope of United Nations Security Council reforms and the varied positions of different regional groupings on this matter; the matter remains under active discussion,” Muraleedharan told the parliament.

Muraleedharan said the issue of India being included as a permanent member of the UNSC has been taken up in several bilateral and multilateral forums when leaders and ministers met their counterparts.

He also said that India’s UNSC permanent membership bid and its calls for reforming global agencies were backed by L.69 group of nations (a cross regional group of countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America), foreign ministers of the G4 (India, Japan, Germany and Brazil) and by Russia, Bhutan, Australia and Portugal during the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2022.

China has blocked India and United States-sponsored bid to designate terrorists as global terrorists and hurting the global war on terror on several occasions.

He also said that there have been attempts to discredit the Quad grouping as well.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on several occasions has reiterated that Quad is a force for global good but China has been a critic of the grouping despite Quad’s contribution towards curbing the pandemic via vaccine distribution and its commitment to address climate change among other issues.

Muraleedharan, without naming China, told the Lok Sabha: “Quad leaders and ministers have taken note of attempts to discredit Quad through disinformation. They are committed to consolidating Quad’s positive and constructive agenda focused on delivery of public goods to countries in the Indo-Pacific in areas such as health security, climate change and energy transition, supply chains, connectivity and infrastructure, education and space.”

The minister clearly stated that the group aims to ensure that the Indo-Pacific region remains free, open, inclusive, prosperous and peaceful and members of the region respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, international law and the rules based international order.

(with inputs from Shalinder Wangu)

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