Joe Biden Supports India, Germany, Japan's Inclusion As Permanent Members Of UNSC: White House Official

The statement comes as Joe Biden said that he believes the time has come for the UN General Assembly to become more inclusive so that it can better respond to the needs of today's world.

New Delhi: US President Joe Biden supports Germany, Japan, and India as permanent members of a reformed United Nations Security Council, a senior official of the Biden administration has said.

"We have historically and continue to stand behind the idea that Germany, Japan, and India should be permanent members of the Security Council," the official said in response to a question, as quoted by news agency PTI.

According to the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, a lot of work needs to be done in this matter.

Earlier, President Joe Biden Wednesday in his address at the UN General Assembly reiterated his commitment to reforming the UN Security Council.

Biden said that he believes the time has come for the institution to become more inclusive so that it can better respond to the needs of today's world.

He stressed that members of the UN Security Council, including the United States, should consistently uphold and defend the United Nations Charter and refrain from the use of the veto, except in rare and extraordinary situations, to ensure that the Council remains credible and effective.

"That is also why the United States supports increasing the number of both permanent and non-permanent representatives of the Council. This includes permanent seats for those nations we've long supported," Biden said, as quoted by PTI.

India Not Sitting UNSC Permanent Member 'Not Good' For The Global Body: S Jaishankar

Addressing an event in New York, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that India not sitting as a permanent member of the UN Security Council is "not good for us” but also not good for the global body and its transformation is “overdue”.

“I was serious when I said I'm working on it,” Jaishankar said, as per PTI.

Jaishankar was in a conversation with Columbia University Professor and Former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya at the Raj Centre at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

He was responding to a question on how long it will take for India to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

“It’s obviously a very hard task because at the end of the day if you say what is a definition of our global order. The five permanent members are a very crucial definition of what the global order is about. So it's a very fundamental, very deep transformation that we are seeking,” the Union Minister said.

He added, “We believe that transformation is overdue, because the UN is a product that was devised eighty years ago. And 80 years ago by any standards of human creativity is a long time ago. The number of independent countries have quadrupled in that period.” 

Jaishankar also mentioned that within a few years, India will be the third largest economy in the world and it will be the most populous society in the world.

“To have such a country not there in the key global councils, obviously, it's not good for us, but I would also urge it's not good for the global Council in question,” Jaishankar emphasised.

“I do believe that with each passing year, I sense in the world greater and greater support for India to be there because we do command today the confidence and trust of very large parts of the world. I do not want to compare it with the current P5. But I would at least say a lot of countries perhaps think that we speak for them with a high degree of empathy and accuracy,” he said.

(With Agency Inputs)