French Ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain on Friday welcomed India's new stint at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a period of two years.
"France welcomes India as it joins UNSC for next 2 yrs. We are eager to work side by side to uphold international law, fight terrorism & defend multilateralism," tweeted Lenain.
The Council is composed of 15 members. Five permanent members (P-5) are China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly (with the end of term year).
On January 1, 2021, India will start its eighth term as a non-permanent, voting member of the UNSC. The last stint of India in UNSC was in the year 2011-2012.
India and France both share the same vision for a new balanced multipolar world, which must be based on the rule of law. They also share the same vision on the main challenges of the times, be the security developments in Asia and the Indo-Pacific, or combating international terrorism.
"To this end, we also need a UNSC reform that gives India a permanent seat!" added Lenain.
Co-incidentally, France was the first P-5 country to support India's claim for a permanent seat in an expanded and reformed UNSC. India and France in past had jointly called for reform of the UNSC that would enable India to gain a permanent seat on it.
( With inputs from ANI )
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