Kolkata, Oct 30 (IANS) Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Friday exuded confidence that India would bag a non-permanent member’s seat in the UN Security Council from the Asian quota for 2011-12.
“We have confirmed our candidature. We are campaigning hard. We are confident of the support from members of the UN General Assembly,” Tharoor told mediapersons on the sidelines of a seminar here.

Apart from India, the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan is also in the fray for a slot in the powerful 15-member Security Council. The elections are slated to be held in October 2010 to replace Japan, whose tenure ends December next year.

On India’s chances of becoming a permanent member of the Security Council, Tharoor said: “That will depend on when the institutional reforms take place in the UN.”

Earlier, delivering the keynote address on the theme ‘Role of United Nations in the Changing World’, Tharoor said the Open-ended Working Group on Security Council reforms formed by the UN General Assembly 1992 has not been able to come to a conclusion as it has been thwarted by a small group of nations.

“It is continuing for 17 years. People now say it is a never-ending working group,” he said.

He stressed that India’s bid for a permanent Security Council seat would not succeed “overnight”.

“In the next General Assembly session we will have serious discussions on overcoming logjams in the working group.”

India has been non-permanent member of the Security Council six times in the past.