France has for long supported India's candidacy for permanent seat in UNSC

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In 2010, India's relations with four of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, namely Britain, the United States, France and Russia, went into overdrive. The French foreign minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, expanded on the enhanced Indo-French ties to The Times of India's Ashis Ray:

TOI: In what specific ways will France and India implement the "joint work" - as mentioned in the joint statement between President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh - with the UNSC and G20?

MAM: India's presence on the United Nations Security Council since January 1 and the French presidency of the G20 constitute exceptionally favourable conditions, providing us with a historic opportunity to strengthen dialogue between our two countries with respect to all major international issues.

The G20 Summit (in Paris in November) will be a key event for the global economy. The three main priorities of the French presidency will be: the reform of the international monetary system, combating the price volatility of commodities and the reform of global governance. India and France can work together to provide original and effective solutions. I am thinking in particular of the regulation of food markets, and the diversification of reserve currencies.

With respect to the reform of the UN Security Council, France has for a long time now supported the candidacy of India for a permanent seat. We must now transform this support into reality. We therefore propose that the G20 should, within the framework of its reflections on global governance, be able to discuss Security Council reform.

TOI: Has an agreement been reached for Dassault to upgrade the fleet of Mirage 2000s in the  Indian Air Force?

MAM: Negotiations took place throughout 2010. These have reached a level that seems to suggest that the contracts will be signed soon. The proposal to upgrade the 51 Mirage 2000s in the Indian Air Force involves a thorough overhaul of their electronic equipment. It involves upgrading the operational capabilities of the aircraft to the highest level and enabling them to conduct multi-purpose missions for a further 20 years. This project is being led by the manufacturers Thales and Dassault with regard to the upgrading of the aircraft and by the manufacturer MBDA for the supply of missiles.

TOI: What are the SRSAM and Kaveri programmes between France and India about?

MAM: These two programmes are co-development projects: a short range surface to air missile for the SRSAM program (also known as Maitri) and a fighter aircraft engine for the Kaveri programme.

In both cases this entails capitalizing on Indian and French technical expertise in order to swiftly develop together new leading-edge equipment aimed at responding as quickly as possible to the new demands of the armed forces.

TOI: The Sarkozy-Singh statement cited counter-terrorism as a "core issue" of bilateral strategic co-operation between France and India. In what ways can this co-operation be enhanced?

MAM: The priority given to the fight against terrorism stems from a simple observation: India and France are facing the same threat, whether on our national territories or against our respective presences in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Singh and President Sarkozy have agreed that our two countries should more systematically exchange and deepen their analyses on terrorist threats, movements and their modes of operation, in particular. We will also further expand our exchanges of experience and expertise in all areas of shared interest: training, equipment, investigative techniques, etc. Our cooperation in the fight against terrorism also carries over into such multilateral forums as the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which India recently joined.

TOI: Could you outline how joint operations between the French and Indian navies in the Indian Ocean would combat piracy?

MAM: The fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden and beyond is a subject of special cooperation. We have identified ways to expand our collaboration: operational complementarity, joint participation in the development of regional capacities, and bringing the perpetrators of acts of piracy to justice.

Read more: France has for long supported India's candidacy for permanent seat in UNSC: French foreign minister - The Times of India [url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/France-has-for-long-supported-Indias-candidacy-for-permanent-seat-in-UNSC-French-foreign-minister/articleshow/7557233.cms#ixzz1EpVfZctJ]http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/France-has-for-long-supported-Indias-candidacy-for-permanent-seat-in-UNSC-French-foreign-minister/articleshow/7557233.cms#ixzz1EpVfZctJ[/url]

[andala ramudu]

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[chotu gadu]

India’s quest for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council received a fillip when she was enthusiastically elected by the total membership to serve a two year non-permanent term starting 1 January 2011.Currently among the ten elected non-permanent members, or E 10 as they are often called, there are as many as three of the four aspirants for permanent membership: India, Germany and South Africa (only Japan from the so called Group of 4, or G 4, is absent). The five others who, along with E 10, constitute the 15 member Council are the veto-wielding powers, who also go by the cognomen of ‘P5’, i.e. the ‘Permanent Five’, are the US, the UK, China, Russia and France. It would follow as a natural corollary that India, Germany and South Africa would seek to use their non-permanent membership over the next two years to advance their case for the larger goal of permanent membership, with or without the veto power.

There are two broad implications of the situation. First, India, Germany and South Africa will be closely watched by the international community. All their actions will be put under the microscope, not just by the key players such as the P5, but by all states, particularly by their neighbours, to test their suitability, or more precisely acceptability, for permanent membership. Second, during this time the P5 will also judge their ‘level of comfort’ in working with the three. It is true at least in case of India, all of the P5 except China have accorded support of varying degrees to the bid for her permanent seat, for them the proof of the pudding will lie in the eating, and the strength of their future commitment will be determined by their ability to work with India.

So, how will India behave herself during this critical period in the Security Council? First, India would like to project herself as a responsible global actor. She will be an elephant in the room, but will avoid behaving too much like one, so as not to raise ire in any quarters. Second, she would also like to push more Asian issues into the Council, to underscore a wider representative character, in a body which preponderantly has been focused on Africa. There are issues close to India’s heart, such as counter-terrorism, peace-keeping, and human rights. India will provide them salience. Indeed a beginning was already made in the first week of January when the Indian Permanent Representative to the UN was elected Chairman of the Council Committee on implementing Resolution 1373 which concerns counter-terrorism and terrorism-financing. India lobbied for the position.

Pakistan will be expected to keep a hawk-eye on India. She is a member of the so-called ‘coffee-club’, an informal grouping of UN members opposing expansion of permanent Council membership. Pakistan had no choice but to vote for India this time round, largely for optical reasons, but one is not necessarily converted because one is silenced (Pakistan would also want India’s support for her own election to the Council next year, and on this, India may be similarly placed). Another state keeping an eye on India would be China. India will avoid giving the impression of aligning too close to the US in the Council this year, to prevent, if at all possible, an abiding Sino-Pakistan alliance across the total spectrum of issues, when Pakistan gets into the Council in 2012.

India will be in the Council for the seventh time since its entry into the United Nations in 1946. On all occasions India is widely seen as having performed well. The Indian Mission to the UN in New York is confident of such a role this time as well. It is being buttressed for this by New Delhi with adequate (well, it is never sufficient!) budgetary and human resources. Indian diplomats are confident their performance will bring India closer to the cherished objective of a permanent seat at the table of the world’s mightiest!

[htnamus]

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