Obama: India should get UN Security Council seat

President Barack Obama on Monday backed India for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, a dramatic diplomatic gesture to his hosts at the end of his first visit to this booming nation.

Obama made the announcement in a speech to India’s parliament on the third and final day of his stay. In doing so, he fulfilled what was perhaps India’s dearest wish for Obama’s trip here. India has sought permanent Security Council membership for years.

“The just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate,” Obama said. “That is why I can say today — in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member.”

The announcement brought the loudest applause of Obama’s speech.

But it does not mean that India will join the five permanent Security Council members anytime soon. The U.S. is backing India’s membership only in the context of unspecified reforms to the council that could take years to bring about.

That makes Obama’s announcement more of a diplomatic gesture than a concrete step. Nonetheless, it underscores the importance the U.S. places on fostering ties with this nation of 1.2 billion people, something Obama has been seeking to accomplish throughout his time here.

Obama said repeatedly throughout his three days in India — first in the financial center of Mumbai and then in the capital of New Delhi — that he views the relationship between the two countries as one of the “defining partnerships” of the 21st century. He set out to prove it by making India the first stop on a four-country tour of Asia, and then through economic announcements, cultural outreach and finally the announcement about the U.N. Security Council.

India has sought permanent council membership as recognition of its surging economic clout and its increased stature in world affairs. The U.S. endorsement is certain to deepen the ties between the two countries and could also send Obama’s popularity in India skyrocketing to a level comparable to that enjoyed by George W. Bush. The former president is seen as a hero here for helping end India’s nuclear isolation.

In another important gesture, Obama went farther than he had previously during his stay in addressing the terror threat inside Pakistan, India’s neighbor and archrival. Obama angered some here when he visited a memorial to victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks but didn’t mention Pakistan, which was home to the attackers.

“We will continue to insist to Pakistan’s leaders that terrorist safe-havens within their borders are unacceptable, and that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice,” the president said in the address, to loud applause. “We must also recognize that all of us have an interest in both an Afghanistan and a Pakistan that is stable, prosperous and democratic — and none more so than India.”

Indian officials accuse Pakistan’s intelligence service of helping orchestrate the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people and say the country has not done enough to crack down on the Pakistan-based extremists held responsible. Pakistan, meanwhile, views India’s ties with the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan as an effort by its old rival to encircle it.

The president’s announcement on the Security Council brought immediate praise from Indian politicians and diplomats.

“I think, maybe, he has gone and scored one better than Bush,” said M.K. Rasgotra, a former Indian foreign secretary. “A great paean to democracy and his belief in India’s promise and offering to stand shoulder to shoulder to India in its advance and progress. This is a great moment in Indo-US relations.”

The five permanent members of the Security Council are the U.S., China, France, the United Kingdom and Russia. The only other country the U.S. has endorsed for permanent membership is Japan.