United Nations, Sep 27 (PTI) Tajikistan, competing against India for a sole non-permanent UN Security Council seat in elections next year, said its membership to the powerful UN body will not be about status but about contributing constructively in maintenance of international peace and security.
In his address at the UN General Assembly debate Saturday, Tajikistan Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin shared his country’s priority as it seeks a UNSC non-permanent seat for the 2028-29 term, for which India has also announced its candidacy.
He said a stronger UN requires member states willing to assume greater responsibility.
“Tajikistan is ready to do so. For the first time in its history, Tajikistan is seeking election to the United Nations Security Council for the 2028-2029 term. We approach this responsibility with humility and determination,” Muhriddin said.
“Tajikistan would bring the experience of a country that has known conflict and built peace, that has faced difficult borders and chosen dialogue and compromise,” he said.
“For us, membership in the Security Council would not be about status. It would be about responsibility to uphold the Charter, to listen to all voices, large and small, to seek common ground where divisions persist, and to contribute constructively to the maintenance of international peace and security,” the Tajik minister said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Muhriddin Thursday on the margins of the high-level General Debate of the 81st session of the UNGA. The meeting came as the two nations vie for the sole non-permanent UN Security Council seat in a high-stakes election less than a year away.
“So glad to meet my friend FM Sirojiddin Muhriddin of Tajikistan. A good discussion on the region and our longstanding bilateral cooperation,” Jaishankar had said in a post on X.
In July this year, Jaishankar launched India’s official campaign for a non-permanent seat at an event at the world body’s headquarters here attended by UN Ambassadors, diplomats and officials.
India’s approach to the UN is rooted in ‘SHANTI: Securing Holistic Advancement through Norms, Trust and Integrity’, Jaishankar said.
He outlined in detail India’s priorities for the 2028-29 UNSC term, which are ‘a voice of the Global South; advancing reformed multilateralism; a future-ready peacekeeping; addressing threats posed due to misuse of AI; securing maritime commons; countering terror financing’.
Elections for the 2028-29 term will be conducted in June next year, when India and Tajikistan will compete for the sole seat in the Asia-Pacific Group category. India last sat at the UNSC horseshoe high table in 2021-22, its eighth time in the powerful 15-nation UN body. PTI YAS GRS GRS
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