India looks ahead to dynamic role at the UNSC

Washington: In an interview India's top UN diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri has expressed hope that India will take its rightful place as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council soon enough with proposed reforms to that august body hopefully materialising by end-2011 or beginning-2012.

'We are ready now to test the waters on a more enduring membership on the Security Council', Puri told agencies in an interview.

Judging by the pace of on-going negotiations within the apex international body, responsible for conducting world affairs, Puri said, 'I am reasonably optimistic that by the end of 2011/ beginning of 2012 we will have security council reform'.

Puri pointed out that the 30-page long negotiating text, ''…which has been in the making for almost a year is likely to be reduced as a result of the inter-governmental negotiating process to a two or three page text.

'And then we are looking at the final stages of negotiations for an outcome of reform. I think we are looking at a very high probability, likelihood of a reform by the end of the year,' Puri said.

He said he expected talks to begin by February.