WASHINGTON – The US on Friday said it would work diligently and forcefully to push for reform of the UN Security Council as White House reaffirmed its support for India’s quest for a permanent seat in the top world body.
“The UN no longer reflects some of the realities of today. And therefore, we’ll continue to work on that,” Mike Hammer, spokesman of the National Security Council, told Washington-based foreign reporters. Reforming the UNSC, he said, was one of the top foreign policy agenda of the Obama administration.
“We are looking to have UN Security Council reform. We have, as it was made clear, the (US) president announced in our visit in India our support for India in the UNSC,” he said. At the same time, he acknowledged that such a reform would take time. “We also recognise that these reforms take considerable effort and time. And that’s something that obviously (US) Ambassador (to the UN, Susan) Rice will be working on very diligently and forcefully over the coming months,” he said.
“We need to just give it time to realise that the world has evolved,” Hammer said. He said the US was working very hard to recognise emerging powers around the globe. “And to that specifically, I’m referring to India. You’ve seen the president’s trip last fall, which was, we thought, very important in developing that strategic partnership. It’s something we’ll continue to build on,” he said.
From the outset, President Barack Obama placed high priority on reestablishing and reasserting the American leadership and standing around the globe.
