G20 Summit: Aiming for UNSC reforms, India and Brazil agree to conduct regular bilateral meetings

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, met in New Delhi on September 10, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

Expressing disappointment over the policy paralysis in inter-governmental negotiations on reforming the United Nations (UN) Security Council, India and Brazil agreed to conduct regular bilateral meetings to coordinate and push for a revamp and expansion of the Council.

Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to the comprehensive reform of the Security Council, including its expansion in the permanent and non-permanent categories, with increased representation of developing nations, the statement said, reiterating their mutual support for their countries’ permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council, according to an India-Brazil joint statement released on September 10.

US President Joe Biden has also backed India for a permanent seat on a "reformed" UN Security Council, a joint statement from the two nations on September 8 said.

"They (India and Brazil) agreed that time has come to move towards a result-oriented process that aims to achieve concrete outcomes in a fixed time frame," the statement said.

This statement comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, met in New Delhi on September 10, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

India and Brazil's call for reforming the UN Security Council echoes that of the Council's Secretary-General António Guterres himself who on September 8 acknowledged that deep structural reforms are required.

"Regarding the recent BRICS Summit in South Africa, both leaders acknowledged its positive outcomes, particularly the renewed and strengthened support for the reform of the United Nations Security Council and the invitations extended to six countries to become full members of BRICS," the statement from the two nations said.

The five-member BRICS invited six more countries to join the alliance last month. BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In its summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, it has invited Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Their membership will begin in January.

Modi and Lula also agreed to work together for the expansion of India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) during Brazil’s MERCOSUR Presidency, to leverage the full potential of their economic partnership.

MERCOSUR is a trading bloc in the South American region comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. A PTA was signed between India and MERCOSUR in New Delhi on January 25, 2004.

Earlier today, India formally handed over the G20 presidency to Brazil during the closing ceremony of the annual summit of the grouping, that was held in New Delhi this weekend.