Britain, France support India’s bid for permanent UNSC membership

TORONTO - India’s bid for permanent membership of the UN Security Council received a boost after Britain and France voiced their support.

British premier David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh late Saturday night ahead of the G-20 Summit and supported India’s bid during their bilateral meetings.

“The British Prime Minister supported India’s case for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council,” said External Affairs Ministry spokesman.

Cameron and Dr. Singh also shared their views on G-20 developments, expressing satisfaction over the performance of Indo-British ties.

Briefing media persons, Vishnu Prakash said the meeting between Dr. Singh and Cameron was conducted in an atmosphere of cordiality.

He said that Dr. Singh congratulated Prime Minister Cameron on his electoral victory on May 6, and said that he looked forward to the latter’s visit to India in July.

Prakash further said that both leaders expressed satisfaction over the positive “trajectory” that this bilateral relationship was taking.

He further revealed that the United Kingdom is the largest investor in India, and added that Indo-British trade is worth over 13 billion dollars.

French President Sarkozy described India as one of his country’s most important partners, and urged it to play a more critical role on the international stage, including in the ongoing Group of Twenty (G-20) deliberations.

He told Dr. Singh with France taking over the G-20 presidentship later this year, he was looking to India for greater cooperation in G-20. By Ashok Dixit (ANI)