31 AUGUST 2015: UNGA president visits India

Ø  As India’s hopes for the U.N. Security Council expansion process hinge on a vote at the United Nations in the next fortnight, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met with the incoming president of the U.N. General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft. The UNGA is required to take a decision to “roll over” the text that contains positions of all countries on the U.N. reform and inducting permanent members into the U.N. Security Council, as India and other countries have demanded. The text for the U.N. reform that has been circulated by the outgoing UNGA president Sam Kutesa, will lapse on September 15, and diplomats at the U.N. are already hard at work to push the decision through “between September 10 and 15.” Mr. Lykketoft will take charge as UNGA President on September 16 only after that vote or decision is taken to adopt the text. But if it is cleared, as India is confident it will be, he will be responsible for squaring the U.N. reform process in the U.N.’s 70th year, along with an Inter-Governmental Panel (IGN). According to the Ministry, Ms. Swaraj “conveyed India’s expectations to achieve concrete forward movement under the presidency of Mr. Lykketoft on the U.N. Security Council reform negotiations as well as finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.” Last month, the government had been taken aback by letters from the U.S., Russia and China that were circulated by UNGA president Sam Kutesa, that didn’t explicitly support India’s case for a permanent Security Council seat, as other countries had. While U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma and Russian President Sergei Ivanov have since clarified that they continue to support India’s claim, China has made no clear statement on its plan, leaving diplomats apprehensive that China could still oppose or try to scuttle the process. A senior official told The Hindu, Mr. Lykketoft was “extremely positive” in talks with Ms. Swaraj about India’s hopes for the U.N. reform process, but “wouldn’t give a firm assurance” yet.