The office of the President stated that India is at the forefront of long-running efforts to change the Security Council and deserves a position as a permanent participant of the UN body.
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Tuesday, said his government would support the applications by India and Japan for permanent membership in the UN Security Council.
President Wickremesinghe has been in Japan to assist in the state funeral of former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe.
At a conference in a meeting with Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Tuesday Wickremesinghe “appreciated the help given from Japan (to Sri Lanka) on the international scene and expressed the government’s desire to stand with Japan and India’s effort to be permanent members of the UN Security Council”, the office of President Yoshimasa Hayashi said in an announcement to the press.
“India is at the forefront of long-running efforts to overhaul the Security Council saying it rightly is due a spot as an official participant in the UN body. However, its current configuration doesn’t reflect the geopolitical realities of the 21st century”.
Presently, the UNSC includes five permanent members as well as 10 non-permanent members who are selected for a 2-year period by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Permanent members include Russia The five permanent members are Russia, France, China UK, China, France, and the US and they are able to block any resolution that is substantive. There has been a rising demand to increase the number of permanent members to reflect the modern world.
India is at the halfway point of two years of two-year tenure as a non-permanent elected part of the UN Security Council.
India’s time as a member of the Council will expire in December when India is also the President of the massive UN organ for the month.
On Saturday, the Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, addressing the General Debate at the 77th session UN General Assembly, emphasized that India is ready to accept greater responsibilities.
“The demand for reforms to multilateralism, including reforms to the Security Council at its core has a lot of support from UN members,” He said.
“It is due to the widespread acceptance that the current structure is outdated and unsustainable. It’s also seen as unfair and ineffective, as it denies whole regions and continents the right to speak in a body that decides their future” Jaishankar said.
The office of President Wickremesinghe announced that Japan has stated its intention to play a leading role in the restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt, which is crucial in order for the island to secure a bailout loan through the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF was willing to sign a staff-level deal in conjunction with Sri Lanka conditional on debt restructuring.
In the middle of April, Sri Lanka declared its international debt default due to the currency crisis. Sri Lanka owes the world $51 billion, out of which $28 billion is to pay by the end of 2027.
The IMF does not lend to countries with debts considered unsustainable and requires Sri Lanka to undertake an upfront debt-relief program that is comprehensive and comprehensive.
Both India, as well as Japan, are major creditors to Sri Lanka, besides China and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Sri Lanka is banking on Japan to arrange the debt restructuring conference on behalf of the country.
“Wickremesinghe has also said he would like to restart stopped Japanese project within Sri Lanka”, officials told reporters.
