New York, September 15
India, Brazil and South Africa have come together, demanding that sweeping UN reforms should be in place by the end of this year and emphasised that this will be incomplete without including developing countries as members of the decision-making Security Council.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Brazilian President Lula da Silva and South African Head of State Thabo Mbeki held a trilateral summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly here yesterday to declare that the “urgent demands of the developing world must be taken into consideration to bring the discussions on the Security Council reform to a successful conclusion.”
The three leaders stressed that this should preferably done by the end of this year and agreed to continue their engagement on all aspects of UN reforms.
The decision by the three countries provides a new dimension to the relentless campaign by the G-4 — India, Brazil, Germany and Japan — to get permanent seats on the UNSC. The US has made its preference known of supporting Japan for a seat in the UNSC without veto powers.
The IBSA decided as a grouping to double the contribution to $ 1 million the aid money for projects to help the poor in Guinea Bissau, Haiti and Palestine.
