Breaking: Obama Supports U.N. Seat for India
Breaking: Obama Supports U.N. Seat for India - NYTimes.com
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: November 8, 2010
Members of Parliament reacted with sustained applause.
NEW DELHI — President Obama announced here on Monday that the United States would back India’s bid for a permanent seat on an expanded United Nations Security Council, a major policy shift that underscores their strengthening partnership.
US President Barack Obama greets Parliamentarians after delivering a speech at Parliament House in New Delhi on November 8, 2010. US President Barack Obama backed India’s quest for a permanent UN Security Council seat, inviting the world’s largest democracy to take its ‘rightful’ place at the summit of global power. - Getty Images
Mr. Obama made the announcement — a priority for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — during a late afternoon speech to Parliament.
“The just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate,” the president said. “That is why I can say today, in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member.”
Members of Parliament reacted with sustained applause. But neither the president nor his top advisers offered a timetable for how long it would take to reform the council, or specifics about what steps the United States would take to do so.
Last month, India won a two-year nonpermanent seat on the council, which has five permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. But expanding the body will be a complicated endeavor that will require the cooperation of other countries and could easily take years. Analysts say China has been especially cool to the idea of permanent Security Council membership for rival Asian powers Japan and India.
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