New York, Sep 22 (IANS) India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Monday reaffirmed commitment to multilateralism and to increased participation of developing countries in the decision-making bodies of multilateral organizations and institutions.
The three nations also reiterated the need for the UN to be reformed so as to become more representative and reflective of the needs and priorities of developing countries. The reaffirmation was made at a meeting here among External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna and his counterparts from Brazil and South Africa, Celso Amorim and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, respectively.

Bearing in mind the importance that developing countries participate in the procedures and deliberations of the UNSC on a continuous and regular basis,ministers recalled the urgent need to expand its permanent and non-permanent categories, in order to increase participation of developing countries in both.

Such expansion would make the UN Security Council more broadly representative, efficient and transparent, would enhance its effectiveness and legitimacy.

Ministers acknowledged the progress in the inter-governamental negotiations on Security Council reform so far and stressed the urgent need to achieve concrete results at the 64th session of the General Assembly.

In this context, they committed to coordinate with each other and the broader UN membership for achieving genuine reform of the UNSC at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Amre Moussa, secretary general of the League of Arab States called on Krishna to discuss the current situation in the Middle East. Other members of the Indian delegation included Hardeep Puri, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and Asith Bhattacharjee, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.