India Should Get 'Rightful Place' In UN Security Council: UK PM Starmer

India should get its 'rightful place' on the UN Security Council, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Thursday in a statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after talks in Mumbai.

A permanent seat for India on the UN's highest decision-making body is a long-standing demand. Over the past months that demand has been backed by the United States (when Joe Biden was President), Germany, and France, as well as the African Union, Japan, and Brazil.

And Starmer's support this afternoon echoes remarks from September last year, when Biden, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, and he all backed India, within days of each other, to make the UN a "more representative body" by including India and Germany, Japan, and Brazil.

Russia has also backed India's bid; last month Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country supports greater representation from Asia, Africa, and Latin America in the global body.

As of now the only Asian country with a permanent seat on the UNSC is China, with whom India's economic, military, and diplomatic relationship is famously fractious, although there are signs of a thaw as they bond in the battle against US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs.

In October last year External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking at a BRICS summit in Russia's Kazan, stressed the need for reforms in 'established institutions and mechanisms', referring specifically to the UN Security Council, to create 'a more equitable global order'.

India's push has rumbled on for the past several years.

In September 2023 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he 'fully understands' India's demand for a permanent seat, but said it is for member-countries to decide on the bid.

At present the UNSC has five permanent members - the US, the UK, Russia, China, and France - and 10 member-countries are elected to rotating two-year terms by the General Assembly.

Current non-permanent members includes Pakistan, which has a seat till 2026.

Apart from backing the UNSC bid, Starmer also hailed India's 'remarkable growth story' as PM Modi and he work to further improve business and personal ties - from Bollywood to football, and from digital technology to military cooperation - following the trade deal signed in July.

The deal will see India slash tariffs on imports of British goods like whisky, cosmetics and medical devices, while Britain will cut duties on clothing, footwear and food products.

India and Britain are the world's fifth- and sixth-largest economies, with bilateral trade worth around $54.8 billion and investments supporting a combined 600,000+ jobs.

PM Modi, meanwhile, spoke of India and the UK being 'natural partners' and the two building a 'crucial foundation for global stability and economic progress', as well as enhanced military ties.

The talks were on various issues, the PM said, from peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, by enhanced maritime security, and West Asia and Ukraine. On the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, India said it supports any effort for peace through dialogue and diplomacy.