New Delhi:

Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Alenik, who is currently on a visit to India, has joined the call for UN Security Council reform and said Minsk will support India’s call for a permanent seat in the world body.

Belarus’s foreign minister stressed the urgency of UN Security Council reform at a media briefing in the country’s capital on Wednesday, adding: “We (Belarus) have also discussed this issue and firmly believe that reform of the UN Security Council should be promoted. This is a long-term issue.” Taking into account the very fragile situation in today’s world, the United Nations is discussing this enduring issue. “

“We also expressed our views during the 78th session of the UN General Assembly and made it clear in our official statement during the 78th session of the UN General Assembly that we will support India’s accession to the Security Council,” he added.

“We share a common view on building a more just, equitable, multi-polar world order. We also share the same view on the principles of international relations. So the core principle is equality,” Alenik said during a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar. and the balance of interests between each country. “

“We also talked about our cooperation in the SCO as well as the BRICS countries and expressed our gratitude to India for its support in our application to formally join the SCO,” added the Belarusian Foreign Minister during the meeting with Minister Jaishankar.

India was the first country to ratify the memorandum of understanding on Belarus’ membership in the SCO, he said, adding that Belarus’s membership of the BRICS was also discussed during his talks with Eastern European member states.

The two leaders also discussed regional and global issues and confirmed efforts to further elevate bilateral cooperation between India and Belarus to the level of “strategic partnership”, he added.

Alenik said: “We are talking about BRICS because Belarus has also applied to become a full member of the organization. We look forward to the active consideration of more and more BRICS members since the last Johannesburg summit.”

He further said that the country is in the final stages of joining the SCO and they hope to “fully join” within the next few months.

Regarding the issue of BRICS membership, he said he looked forward to making positive progress at the BRICS leaders’ meeting to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan in October this year.

Earlier on Tuesday, EAM Jaishankar held discussions with the Belarusian Foreign Minister on bilateral ties, including development partnership in the defense sector. The two leaders discussed various aspects of politics, trade and economics in depth.

During his visit to India, the Belarusian Foreign Minister held meetings with eminent leaders and ministers to discuss strengthening relations between the two countries across sectors and fields.

His visit, which started on March 11 and is expected to end on March 13, is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.

Aleynik is scheduled to depart on Wednesday evening, marking the end of his brief but crucial diplomatic mission to India, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a release.

Jaishankar last met with the President of Belarus on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit on January 19 in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

During the meeting, Jaishankar and the Belarusian Foreign Minister discussed developments related to the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)