Washington: Timor-Leste President José Manuel Ramos-Horta has renewed his support for India to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, saying its size, democratic record and civilisation make its exclusion difficult to justify.
“I will always support India’s aspirations for being a permanent member of the Security Council,” Ramos-Horta said in an interview with IANS. He said he had argued for India’s place on the council for years.
“It makes absolutely no sense that a country of the dimensions of India should remain outside its permanent membership, he said. His case went beyond population, territory and economic power. “India in itself is a living civilisation,” he said.
Ramos-Horta praised India for sustaining democracy across a vast and diverse society since independence. He pointed to its many languages, faiths and communities, while acknowledging that the country faces challenges. “Never a coup. Never a reversal of democracy through military coups,” he said.
He also traced India’s rise from widespread poverty in the 1950s and 1960s to its present standing in science, technology and medicine. India, he said, had played down its own importance even as its economy grew and its people took leading roles in fields including information technology.
The president linked his view of India to its record of working with developing countries. He said India had helped African nations, particularly in East Africa, even when it faced severe poverty at home. He described that record as an early example of solidarity among countries of the Global South.
Asked what closer ties between India and Timor-Leste could look like, Ramos-Horta identified health care and food security as areas for greater cooperation. He pointed to India’s pharmaceutical and medical equipment industries, as well as opportunities in agriculture.
Education already connects the two countries, he said. Timorese students study in India, while several hundred Indian medical students attend a medical school in Timor-Leste. Indian teachers accompany those students, and Timor-Leste benefits from the arrangement, he said. He also called for cooperation in multilateral forums.
Ramos-Horta said his admiration for India was both personal and political. He spoke of his interest in Indian literature and Mahatma Gandhi, whose legacy he suggested may have helped India remain peaceful and free of military rule.
The president also called for a rethink of the G7’s role. He argued that the group no longer adequately represents the world economy and said the G20 should become the principal forum. “G7 on its own does not really represent the world economy,” he said, pointing to the economic weight of India, China and Brazil.
Timor-Leste became independent in 2002. Ramos-Horta, a longtime advocate for the country’s independence, has held senior roles in its government, including foreign minister, prime minister and president.
The UN Security Council has five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. India has long sought permanent membership as part of a broader reform of the council’s representation.
(IANS)
