India and US discuss UNSC agenda, agree to work closely together

Washington: India and the US have held wide ranging discussions on issues on the UN Security Council agenda and agreed to work closely given their shared values of democracy, pluralism and rule-based international order, officials here said.

Earlier this year, India, along with Mexico and Ireland, was elected a non-permanent member for a two-year term starting January 1, 2021.

The consultations between India and the US are reflective of the efforts on the part of the two countries to coordinate on a host of global issues that would come up before the powerful organ of the United Nations next year.

“Both sides held wide ranging discussions on issues on the UN Security Council agenda and recent developments,” the Embassy of India here said in a statement on Thursday.

“They agreed to work closely together given their shared values of democracy, pluralism and rule-based international order, during India”s upcoming term as non-permanent member of the UNSC during 2021-22,” it said.

India has been pushing for reforms of the United Nations, including the Security Council, stating that its composition doesn’t reflect the current realities and is not representative enough.

The UNSC has 15 members, including five permanent members – the US, the UK, France, Russia and China. China is the only permanent member of the UNSC which is opposed to India’s inclusion into the powerful organ. Half of the 10 non-permanent members are elected every year for a two-year term.

Indian delegation for the two-day consultations on Wednesday and Thursday was led by Vinay Kumar, Additional Secretary (International Organisation and Summits) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

The delegation included senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, the Permanent Mission of India in New York and the Embassy of India in Washington, DC.

The US delegation was led by Pamela D Pryor, Acting Assistant Secretary for State Department”s Bureau of International Organisation Affairs, and included other senior State Department officials.