Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has backed India and Brazil to be given permanent membership of a reformed Security Council.
During his address at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 18, he pressed for a reformed UN Security Council and said that countries like India and Brazil can’t be ignored “…The concept of security corresponds to a world that no longer exists. Portugal has defended that countries like Brazil and India become permanent members. This decision should be made. These countries cannot be ignored,” he said.
The Portuguese President further called for the reformation of the financial institutions, stating that they are “incapable” of financing sustainable development, with equity, end with justice.
“Similarly, existing financial institutions, are incapable of financing sustainable development, with equity end with justice. The richer have preference over the poorer nations. And the three urgencies are connected and they continue to be connected year after year,” the President said.
He added, “Portugal defends the respect for the United Nations Charter. Portugal defends the acceleration of struggle against climate change, trying to move forward in decarbonisation in promoting green energy”.
Notably, reforms in the global systems have been an issue continuously raised by India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the global stage.
During his concluding address at the G20 Leaders Summit here in the national capital, PM Modi reiterated his stance of making global systems in accordance with the “realities of the present” and took the example of the United Nations Security Council.
“When the UN was established, the world at that time was completely different from today. At that time there were 51 founding members in the UN. Today the number of countries included in the UN is around 200. Despite this, the permanent members in UNSC are still the same,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that a lot has changed in the world since that time, be it transport, communication, health, or education, every sector has been transformed.
“These new realities should be reflected in our new global structure. It is a law of nature that individuals and organisations that fail to adapt to changing times inevitably lose their relevance. We must think with an open mind as to what is the reason that many regional forums have come into existence in the past years, and they are also proving to be effective,” he further said.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also made an endorsement of India’s bid for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council and said his nation would be “proud” if a country like India became a full member of the UNSC
“We would be proud if a country like India became a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As you know, the world is bigger and larger than five (permanent members). And when we say the world is larger than five, what we mean is that it’s not only about the US, UK, France, China and Russia. We don’t want to have just these five countries on the Security Council,” he said on the concluding day of the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi.
(with inputs from ANI)
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