India and the World

Time running out for UN Security Council reforms: G4

- by Manish Chand

A thousands visions and revisions later, the reform of the UN Security Council still remains a chimera, embroiled in endless vacillation. Against this backdrop, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj joined hands with her counterparts from other G4 countries to push hard for the expansion of the UNSC, which is looking more like an anachronism in view of the seismic shift of power from the west to the rest in the 21st century.
The collective sense of the mounting frustration at the excruciatingly slow pace of the UNSC reforms was palpable during their discussions.
The G4 ministers’ meeting ended with the four countries expressing support for each other’s candidatures and reaffirming their support for developing countries, including from Africa, to be represented in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of an enlarged Council.
In his maiden speech at the UNGA, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make a forceful pitch for reform of the UNSC and present a compelling case for the inclusion of India in an expanded and rejuvenated Security Council.

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Obama declares war on IS militants: India, US to step up counter-terror cooperation

- by Manish Chand

US President Barack Obama’s declaration of war on The Islamic State, the terrorist machine’s network of death that has unleashed mayhem in the Middle East, should be noted positively by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be looking to step up counter-terror cooperation during his summit meeting with the American president.

Amid the roiling ferment in the Middle East, the region that is pivotal to India’s energy security and is home to over 7 million Indians, intensifying counter-terror cooperation with the US will be high on the agenda when Mr Modi meets Mr Obama for full-spectrum talks in Washington on September 30.

The volatile situation in the AfPak region against the backdrop of the conflicted transition process in Afghanistan will add a trenchant element to counter-terror discussions that the two leaders are expected to have in Washington.

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