India, Japan to hold regular consultations on UN reforms

Looking beyond their bilateral ties, India and Japan today joined hands to work in multilateral fora for early reform of the UNSC, the powerful organ of the UN in which the two nations are eyeing permanent seats.
For working smoothly to achieve the goal, the two nations decided to hold the 1st India-Japan Consultation on UN Issues, including United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform, soon.
In a joint statement issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, the two leaders agreed to hold "regular consultations twice a year to further enhance cooperation between the two countries."

"The two Prime Ministers reemphasised their resolve to work towards early reform of the United Nations, including the expansion of the United Nations Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories, particularly through the efforts of the G-4 so as to reflect contemporary geopolitical realities."
"They confirmed that such reforms were necessary to make the Security Council more representative, effective, credible and responsive to the needs of its wider membership," it said.
Earlier, Singh said he had a "meeting of minds in our discussions on global and regional issues" with his Japanese counterpart.

"We will seek reforms in the United Nations Security Council, an open, rule-based and balanced regional architecture and deeper regional economic integration and connectivity," he said.

The G-4 countries -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan -- are supporting each other's bids for permanent seats on the 15-member UNSC, which is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.
China, France, Russia, Britain and the US are the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UNSC. There are also 10 non-permanent members, with five elected each year to serve two-year terms.
"They concurred in continuing to take an active part in the intergovernmental negotiations in the United Nations General Assembly supporting the Chair to achieve meaningful progress. In this regard, they also decided to strengthen their bilateral cooperation and consultation with other member states," the joint statement added.

The prime ministers also expressed satisfaction at the meetings of the India-Japan Joint Working Group on Counter- terrorism and their cooperation in multilateral fora.
The two leaders "recognise the need to finalise and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations", the joint statement said.