French ambassador welcomes India's return to UNSC, supports 'permanent membership'

French Ambassor to India Emmanuel Lenain on December 31 welcomed India’s eighth tenure at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for two years starting from January 1, 2021. In a statement shattered on Twitter, Lenain t only said that “France welcomes India” but also vouched for India to get a “permanent seat” in ncy. French Ambassor to India also expressed erness to work alongside India to counter challenges including terrorism.

UNSC is composed of 15 members with five permanent states or P-5 that are China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, and United States. Meanwhile,   remaining 10 are n-permanent members that are elected for a two-year term by UN General Assembly. Just recently, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava shared glimpses from past when India took part in conferences. 

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India at UNSC

India’s first tenure at UNSC dated back to 1950-51 when India presided over options of Resolutions, calling for cessation of hostilities during Korean War and assistance for Korea, as president of UNSC. It was followed by a tenure in 1967-68 when India co-sponsored Resolution 238 and extended mandate of United Nations Mission Cyprus which was also “first-ever’ UNSC resolution drafted by India. nation was again part of conference in 1972-73 when it urged for mission of Banglesh to UN. However, that resolution failed because a permanent member used veto. n in 1977-78, India became an eminent voice for Africa and spoke against Aparid. 

In 1978, n External Affairs Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke in UNSC backing Namibia’s independence. Followed by 1984-85, India was yet again a “leing voice” for resolution of Middle East conflicts including Palestine and Leban. In India’s 1991-92 tenure, n Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao participated in first-ever summit-level meeting of UN Security Council and spoke on ncy's role in maintenance of global peace as well as security.

India was also part of UN in 2011-12 when it became a significant voice for developing nations, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism, Africa. Furr, MEA also ted that first statement on Syria was also during India’s presidency at UNSC. w after a gap of some years, nation is set to return to council for 2021-22. MEA spokesperson shared milestones India achieved in UNSC in a short video shared on Twitter.

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