- Self-Study Guided Program o Notes o Tests o Videos o Action Plan
Strong bonds:External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with counterparts from Brazil, Germany and Japan during the G4 meeting on Friday.PTI
Reform of the United Nations has been a central theme of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to the United Nations this week, and on Thursday, he met with his counterparts from Germany, Brazil and Japan under The Group of Four (G4) banner following the BRICS meeting. The group is primarily focused on UN Security Council (UNSC) reform, and permanent membership for G4 members. On Thursday, they reiterated their commitment to pushing forward reform and expressed dissatisfaction at the lack of progress.
“Reiterated our joint commitment to work towards text based negotiations that leads to Reformed Multilateralism. Will continue our cooperation towards this goal,” Mr. Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting. India is currently a non-permanent member of the Council.
In addition to reiterating their support for each other’s bids to become permanent members of the UNSC, the G4 also reiterated its support for African countries being represented in a permanent and non-permanent capacity. The G4 felt that the UN decision making bodies needed to be urgently reformed as globalissues were increasingly complex and interconnected, a joint press statement from the group said. The “inability” of the UNSC to “effectively” address these problems “vividly demonstrate[s] the urgent need” for UNSC reform, the statement said.
U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized its support for expanding permanent and non-permanent seats on the Council, during his UNGA address on Wednesday. However, State Department spokesperson Ned Price had said in 2021 that the U.S. supports expansion of body provided it “does not alter or expand the veto”.
On Thursday, the G4 ministers expressed concern that the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly did not make “meaningful progress” in the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN), which, according to the G4, was constrained by a lack of transparency.
