India pushes for reform at UN

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters here that India agreed with Annan’s view that UN reforms should be finalised by September this year.

The leaders also shared the view that consensus should not be allowed to become a reason for ‘‘inaction’’. They took note that very often in the UN, consensus became co-terminus with ‘‘unanimity’’. As a result, consensus had become an excuse for inaction.

After discussions lasting 90 minutes, Natwar Singh hosted a lunch for Annan. The situation in Iraq, West Asia, Afghanistan, Sudan, as also South Asia including Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar figured during the talks. The Minister also briefed Annan on the successful visits by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf this month.

On Iraq, Annan said the UN plans to provide assistance in drafting the new constitution. The Minister conveyed to him that India was willing to share its expertise on such issues. The UN Secretary-General, in turn, sought names of experts from India who could be involved in this process.

Annan also praised the Indian Army’s participation in peace-keeping operations across the globe and added that their discipline and performance was ‘‘exemplary’’.

Annan later met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who made a Powerpoint presentation, explaining the government proposal for e-connectivity linking 53 pan-African countries.

In his luncheon speech, the External Affairs Minister said: ‘‘It is clear that to meet the challenges of the 21st century, the UN will have to reform to make it a more effective instrument to tackle shared threats and shared needs.’’

He made a strong case for enlargement of the Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories, and added that this would not only enhance its authority and make it more representative but also contribute to wider acceptance of its decisions.

‘‘In our judgement, there should be no discrimination between the current permanent members and the new permanent members.’’