The government on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that four out of five permanent members of the UN Security (UNSC) have given their nod to India's candidature for a permanent seat in the top body.
"Four out of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have bilaterally expressed official affirmations of support for India's candidature to a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council," said Minister of State for External Affairs, while interacting with reporters in the Lower House.
Speaking about the government's top priority, Muraleedharan said that the highest priority at the moment is to get permanent membership for India in an expanded UNSC.
"India has been consistently taking up China the issue of reform of the UNSC," said the minister said. He further added that China is the only nation that has not yet supported India's bid to become a member of the UNSC.
"Towards this end, the government has undertaken various initiatives aimed at building international support for India. The matter is consistently taken up during bilateral and multilateral meetings at all levels, including at the highest levels," he said.
He also referred to comments by a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson last year following India-China consultations on the UNSC.
Muraleedharan said the spokesperson, responding to a question, said that China supports UNSC reforms in a manner that increases the authority and efficacy of the body and increases the representation and voice of developing countries so that the small and medium-sized countries have a greater opportunity to participate in the decision making process.
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