India’s pitch for permanent seat at UN Security Council gets Sri Lankan support

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday that his country will support India and Japan's aspirations for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council.

President Wickremesinghe was in Japan to attend the state funeral of the former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

During a meeting with Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe "appreciated the support extended by Japan (to Sri Lanka) on the international stage and expressed the government's willingness to support both Japan's and India's campaign to become permanent members of the UN Security Council", the President's office said in a press release.

India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member of the UN body, which in its current form does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st century.

At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent member countries which are elected for a two-year term by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

India is currently halfway through the second year of its two-year term as an elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

India's tenure at the Council will end in December when the country will also preside as President of the powerful UN organ for the month.

On Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, addressing the General Debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, emphasised that India is prepared to take up greater responsibilities.

The call for reformed multilateralism with reforms of the Security Council at its core enjoys considerable support among UN members, he said.

Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe's office said Japan has expressed willingness to take a lead role in Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, which is vital for the island's bid to gain a bailout facility from the International Monetary Fund.