US President Joe Biden feels that India should have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Friday (local time).”There was an appreciation of our presidency of the UN Security Council, especially on the Afghanistan issue. President Joe Biden was very specific in stating that he felt India should have a permanent seat in the UN Security Council,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Biden.He was addressing a special press briefing on PM Modi’s second day of engagements in the US visit.India, one of the founding members of the world body has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for 7 times during the years- 1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and most recently in 2011-2012.The UNSC comprises 15 members including 10 non-permanent and 5 permanent members. The 193-member UNSC holds elections every year to elect five non-permanent members for a two-year term at the UN.Apart from this, there are five permanent members of the Council-China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.PM Modi and President Joe Biden on Friday held their first bilateral meeting since the latter assumed office and discussed progress in ties and issues related to trade, COVID-19, climate change and stability in the Indo-Pacific.PM Modi, who met Biden at the Oval Office of the White House, said in his opening remarks that the bilateral summit was important and seeds have been sown for an even stronger friendship between India and the US.After the bilateral meeting, the Prime Minister said that Biden’s leadership on critical global issues is commendable and India and the US would work together to overcome key challenges like COVID-19 and climate change.Since January, PM Modi and Biden have participated in three summits. Two of them were hosted by President Biden – the Quad virtual summit in March and the Climate Change Summit in April which was also held virtually. PM Modi also virtually took part in the G7 Summit held at Cornwall in the UK in June this year.
