New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) Germany, one of a four-nation group pushing for United Nations reforms, Saturday forcefully argued for providing a permanent seat to India and itself in the security council high table so that the international body reflects present-day global realities.
German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner, who took over his new responsibilities here this week, also noted that if the UN does not reform, it might lose its “legitimacy.”
“It is very clear that India should have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council,” Steiner told reporters during an interaction here.
“Germany has the same request, if you look at our contribution (to UN),” he said, adding that “as India endorses the German request, we endorse the Indian request”.
Germany and India, along with South Africa and Japan, have formed a group within the UN to push for early reforms and expansion of the UNSC to include them as permanent members.
At present, the Permanent Five (P5) in the UNSC are the US, Britain, France, Russia and China.
“Our line is very clear here. The UNSC was formed as a picture of the situation after the Second World War. It reflected the then political realities of the world. If you look now at the political realities, they are completely different. The UNSC, with the P5, does not reflect the picture that does exists now anymore.
“It is obvious that an organ, which does not reflect the realities of the world be it in terms of population or be it terms of contribution, loses its legitimacy,” the German envoy said.
Calling for the UN to adapt to the present day circumstances, Steiner said: “I think it is quite legitimate that we progress faster in this direction.”
Germany, the ambassador said, wan ted to achieve a common European foreign policy and for the European Union to speak in one voice.
Earlier, Steiner said the India and German are “a perfect match” considering that the two nations are placed in a similar situation in their respective continents.
“We are living in challenging times. Both India and Germany are playing a crucial role under the circumstances,” he said, adding that for that reason Germany had last year established a special government-to-government relations with India, the first ever outside of Europe.
“India has its role to play as an anchor of stability in Asia. India, being in the middle, has to look to both the East and the West and play the bridging and connecting role.
“Germany too is the anchor of stability in Europe. Its role now needs no special emphasis. Germany also looks both East and West, being deeply anchored in both European Union and NATO, and at the same time, having a good traditional policy of looking at Russia and beyond,” he said.
In view of the same values and approaches that the two nations share, they are the most liked nation in Afghanistan too, he added.
