Government of India welcomes the decision by the UN General Assembly to carry forward the text presented by the President of the General Assembly on the issue of Security Council reform. This is a significant development as after more than two decades of discussions, we can now commence text-based negotiations. Adoption of this text by consensus by all UN Member States is reflective of the broad support of the international community to move forward on this issue.

We deeply appreciate the leadership of the President of the 69th Session of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr Sam Kutesa, and Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) process, H.E. Mr Courtenay Rattray in carrying forward the IGN towards text-based negotiation process.

We look forward to early commencement of text-based negotiations with a view to securing concrete outcomes during the 70th Session of the UNGA. We call upon all Member States to constructively engage in this process so that the long pending reform of the UN Security Council can be achieved so as to equip the Council to more effectively address the global challenges.

New Delhi
September 14, 2015