The G4 grouping comprising India, Japan, Germany and Brazil on Wednesday expressed their concern over lack of any “meaningful” forward movement on long-pending reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and demanded “urgency” on the issue. The foreign ministers of the G4 countries, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, held a virtual meeting coinciding with the 75th session of the UN General Assembly during which they held extensive discussion on the need for urgent reform of the UNSC.

Responding to the G4 ministers call for text-based negotiations with a fixed time to carry out reforms for the UN Security Council, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that, “We believe the reform of the Security Council is an important issue which concerns the long-term development and all the immediate interests of its members.

“There have been enormous divisions on this issue and there lacks a widespread consensus on the arrangement for reform. China is willing to work with other UN members to seek a package solution that can accommodate all parties’ interests and concerns through dialogue and negotiation,” he said.

Wang said that the Security Council was the “core of the international collective security mechanism.” “It calls for reforms to better perform its duty enshrined in the UN charter. We believe the reforms should increase the representation and voice of developing countries and allow more small and medium size countries to enter the Security Council and participate in the decision making,” he said.

In the 75th year of the UN, India will begin its two-year term as elected non-permanent member of the powerful Security Council from January 1. China, part of the permanent five (P5) of the UNSC with veto power, has been stonewalling India’s efforts to become a member of the UN’s powerful body for years, pointing to lack of consensus even though the US, the UK, France and Russia have supported Delhi’s membership.