Mumbai: French President Emmanuel Macron has supported a permanent membership for India at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
He also backed Brazil, Japan, Germany and two countries from Africa for permanent membership of UNSC.
“Let’s make the UN more efficient. We need to make it more representative and that’s why France is in favour of the Security Council being expanded. Germany, Japan, India and Brazil should be permanent members, along with two countries that Africa will decide to represent them,” Macron said in his address at the UN General Assembly.
The US, China, Russia, France and the UK currently hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
Several nations, including the US, previously voiced support for India joining this influential group. China, however, has opposed India’s inclusion.
At the recent Quad Leaders’ Summit, leaders from India, the US, Australia and Japan stressed on the need for reform of the UN to make it more representative by including more countries in the UNSC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the need for a balance in the representation of different regions in the UN.
“How can we talk of it as a primary organ of a global body when entire continents of Africa and Latin America are ignored? How can it claim to speak for the world when its most populous country, and its largest democracy, is not a permanent member,” PM Modi had reasoned earlier.