India woos Russia for UNSC seat

Ruag · Sep 5, 2009

India woos Russia for UNSC seat

Having rediscovered its ''special relationship defined by special trust'' with Russia, India is once again pushing hard for a coveted seat in the United Nations Security Council.

President Pratibha Patil during a 45-minute meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the ‘white house’ here on Friday brought up the subject of ‘lop-sided’ representation in the Security Council and the need to revamp the membership of the highest UN body.

Though such ‘political issues’ are normally left to the political leaders and the visit by a Head of State is more in the nature of exchange of goodwill, Ms Patil’s reference to security Council found positive response from Putin. The Russian leader reportedly agreed that there was a clear case for expansion of the Security Council and India finding a place in it that merits its size and importance, “but we need to find the options that are available.”

India has obviously renewed its effort to find a seat at the UN high table on the eve of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) meeting at New York later this month and a trilateral meeting among the foreign ministers of the three countries minus Brazil scheduled to be held in Bangalore in October.

Obstacles

Among the permanent members of SC, India already enjoys the support of France, Britain and Russia and it is only the US and China which have laid the obstacles. The meeting between Ms Patil and Putin also concentrated a great deal on taking the economic relations to a new level by encouraging wide-range of investments in each other’s countries.

While India has already finalised an investment of about $5 billion dollars in Russia in the hydrocarbon sector and looking for more opportunities in gas and petroleum projects, Russian companies are active in off shore oil explorations and communications in India.

Sources said both the sides are encouraging government-to-government as well as business-to-business dealings and the recent establishment of a CEOs forum would give a boost to the trade between the two countries. In its quest for energy security, India is already pumping oil from Sakhalin-1 in Russia and tied up with other companies for import of LNG. The Russian companies are participating in the next round of bidding for off-shore oil exploration in India being held in Europe next week.