With Kazakhstan opting out of the race, India’s chances of getting a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have brightened.
However, officials here say there would be no slackening of effort because of the possibility of emergence of another competitor in the 10 months that remain before voting takes place in October.
India has been straining to secure commitments in order not to repeat the two fiascos at the UN - the defeat to Japan a decade back for the same seat, and more recently, when Shashi Tharoor lost the elections for the post of UN Secretary-General.
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Kazakhstan was causing worry as it was claiming the support of countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
India and Kazakhstan enjoy close bilateral ties and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was the Chief Guest at last year’s Republic Day parade, but the competition for the UNSC non-permanent seat is being fought in earnest.
The tide began turning India’s way after Germany from the European countries and Ukraine in the CIS block agreed to support India. Diplomats here were also confident that the African countries would vote together as a continental group rather than on religious fault lines.
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New boost
The latest boost came during Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Tun Razak’s visit to the country last week, during which he indicated a breaking of ranks from the members of the “Coffee Club” who had opposed India’s (along with that of Germany, Japan and Brazil) bid for a permanent seat on the UNSC. This implied that Malaysia, an OIC and ASEAN member, would also be willing to support India for the non-permanent seat, diplomats here said.
But to win the seat, India must ensure that at least two-thirds of UN members vote for it. And it will be back to the drawing board again to stitch up alliances if a new competitor emerges to challenge India for the Asia quota seat.