G-4 meeting held in Brasilia

New Delhi, Apr 20 (UNI) The G-4 countries have called for creation of new permanent and non-permanent seats for both developed and developing countries in the UN Security Council (UNSC) and reaffirmed the need for its urgent reform.

Senior officials from G-4 countries including India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, who met in Brasilia yesterday, reaffirmed the need for an urgent reform of the UN Security Council, including increasing the permanent membership.

India was represented at the meeting by Mr K C Singh, Additional Secretary (International Organisations) in the External Affairs Ministry.

It was decided at the meeting yesterday that the four countries would be flexible in negotiations about the UNSC reform, official sources said here today.

An External Affairs Ministry spokesman said today that the officials met to assess recent developments regarding the UNSC reform and reaffirmed the need for an urgent reform of the Security Council.

In that context, they reiterated the G-4 proposal that includes new seats in both categories, permanent and non-permanent, and encompass developed as well as developing states.

They expressed the readiness of the G-4 to engage in negotiations with all those genuinely interested in a meaningful Security Council reform.

They also stressed the urgency to achieve results and stated their willingness to participate in negotiations with flexibility, with a view to reaching a decision on this long-standing issue at the earliest.

The high-level officials of the G-4 decided to convey the conclusions of the Brasilia meeting to the President of the General Assembly.

They have already expressed the desire to involve the African Union (AU) in the negotiations for UNSC reforms.

India and Brazil, had during the recent visit of Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim to India, said the G-4 would be consulting the AU also.

Both countries had expressed commitment to G-4.

UNI