New Delhi, India. Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday called for India to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House.
Christodoulides said Cyprus supports India’s “growing global role” and its “rightful place” in a reformed Security Council.
Support for India’s role and multilateralism
“I wish to take this opportunity to reiterate that Cyprus also supports India’s growing global role, including its rightful place in a reformed United Nations security council, because global governance must reflect today’s realities,” Christodoulides said during a joint press conference.
He said he and Modi discussed regional and international developments and reaffirmed “our shared commitment to international law, the United Nations charter, and effective multilateralism.”
Thanks for India’s stance on Cyprus
Christodoulides thanked Modi, saying Cyprus and the Cypriot people value India’s longstanding efforts to reunify Cyprus and its support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus.
UN Security Council composition and India’s terms
Since its creation in 1948, the UN Security Council has had five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States—and 10 non-permanent members who serve two-year terms. The number of non-permanent seats rose from an initial six in 1966.
India has served eight separate terms as a non-permanent member, first in 1951-1952 and most recently in 2021-2022.
Calls for reform and requirements for permanent membership
Calls to alter the Security Council’s constitution have been made from various parts of the world in recent years, including by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who told the UN General Assembly in 2013 that “the world is bigger than five,” a phrase he has repeatedly used in reference to the Security Council.
India is one of the G4 nations along with Brazil, Germany, and Japan, whose members support each other’s attempts to gain permanent seats.
For India or any country to gain a permanent seat on the Security Council, it would require a two-thirds majority vote at the General Assembly, including positive votes from all five current permanent members of the Security Council.
What role do you think UN Security Council reform should play in global governance?