India to focus on terrorism and SC reform at UNGA meet

United Nations, Sep 20 (PTI) Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's address to the UN General Assembly will
articulate India's priorities on key areas of terrorism,
Security Council reform, inclusive growth and poverty
eradication.
Singh will attend the UNGA after a gap of two years. He
was last here in 2008.
Briefing a group of Indian journalists here ahead of
Singh's visit, India's Permanent Representative to the UN
Hardeep Singh Puri said: "we are very pleased that the Prime
Minister has chosen to lead the delegation. It is important
that our national priorities are articulated at the level of
the Prime Minister as that has a much better resonance."
Singh would arrive here on September 22 and will address
the 193-member UN General Assembly on the 24th.
"India's priorities will be developmental concerns,
eradication of poverty, Millenium Development Goals, inclusive
growth and terrorism," Puri said.
Singh would hold bilateral talks with Nepal Prime
Minister Baburam Bhattarai, Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda and Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
While an Obama-Singh meeting is not expected to take
place at the UNGA, Puri said there will be many occasions in
the coming months, like the G-20 meet, SAARC and east Asia
summit where Singh will have "a day and half or two" with the
US President and leaders of France and UK.
Referring to the issue of Security Council reform, Puri
said in the past a permanent UNSC seat was an "aspiration" for
India but today it is "something we are actually negotiating."
India has almost the number required for a majority but
it wants to be "100 per cent sure" its has a 2/3 majority,
Puri said, adding that a permanent UNSC seat is no longer at
the "aspirational stage but we are taking hard decisions of
how to go about it and looking at modalities."
Puri said India's seat in the UNSC will not come from
the Security Council but from traction in the General Assembly
as "that is where you need the votes."
India will get votes "from a clinical appreciation" of
what it has to put on the table in its capacity as the world's
largest democracy and a vibrant and growing economy, he added.
"Today perception of India as potential member of the
UNSC is better than ever before," he said.