External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will visit New York to participate in two high-level Ministerial meetings at the UN Security Council that will take up reform in the UN Security Council and the global counter-terror campaign on December 14 and 15. During the visit, the Indian Minister will unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi within the premises of the United Nations.
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“The High-Level Ministerial Open Debate on 14 December is on the theme of ‘New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism’ [NORMS] and the High-Level Briefing on 15 December is on ‘Global Approach to Counter Terrorism - Challenges and Way Forward’. Both these themes have been key priorities for India during its current tenure at the UN Security Council,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press note.
The Ministry said the Open Debate on Reformed Multilateralism will focus on reformed global governance and the requirement of new ideas in the UNSC, where India is serving as a non-permanent member (2021-2022) as well as the President for the month of December.
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During the visit, Dr. Jaishankar will interact with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and hold a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the UNSC member countries.
Setting the stage for discussion on the upcoming meetings, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has supported the idea of reforming the UN Security Council. “We should remember that we’re not propping up a system that only benefits us, or keeps others down.... In fact, the U.K. wants to welcome Brazil, India, Japan and Germany as permanent members of the UN Security Council, alongside permanent African representation,” Mr. Cleverly said, forecasting that future world powers will emerge from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
It’s noteworthy that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also supported the claims of Brazil and India for permanent seats at the UNSC, while holding back from supporting the claims of Germany and Japan.