'We would be proud...' says Turkey President on India's permanent UNSC seat

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would be ‘proud’ to have India as part of the UN Security Council and proposed a ‘rotational’ membership mechanism. Addressing the media after the G20 Summit on Sunday, the senior politician however noted that the world was ‘larger than five’. The remarks came mere hours after US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his support for a reformed UNSC with India as a permanent member.

“A country like India being there on the UN Security Council, we would be proud. But as you now, the world is bigger than larger than five. And when we say the world is larger than five, what we mean is that it's not only about the US, UK, France, China and Russia...What we say is all of them, we should only have permanent members,” Erdogan said.

He also called for a ‘rotational system’ that would see all 195 member countries potentially becoming a member.

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Earlier on Friday, PM Modi had held talks with US President Joe Biden to reaffirm their commitment to the G20 and bolster multilateral cooperation.

“The leaders once again underscored the need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system so it may better reflect contemporary realities and remain committed to a comprehensive UN reform agenda, including through expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of membership of the UN Security Council,” the statement said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also touched upon the topic during an address on Sunday/ He hailed India for giving voice to topics of interests of emerging economies and contended that the UN Security Council needed new developing countries as permanent and non-permanent members. Lula said that this would help it regain political strength and ensure greater representation for emerging countries at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

(With inputs from agencies)