Norway supports a permanent seat for India in the United Nations Security Council. This was emphasised by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in his meetings with his Indian colleague A.B. Vajpayee and Foreign Minister S.J. Singh in New Delhi today.

"A permanent seat for India will make the Security Council more representational and give the developing countries a new and important voice in the UN", the Prime Minister said.

For Norway it is important that an enlargement of the Security Council strengthens the Council’s legitimacy without reducing its efficiency. Thus, Norway supports the expansion with both permanent and non-permanent members.

The Nordic countries have supported permanent seats in the UN Security Council for Japan and Germany. Furthermore, Norway supports permanent seats for one country each from Africa and Latin America, regions that are underrepresented in the Security Council today. In addition, Asia, Africa and Latin America should, according to the Norwegian view, be allotted one non-permanent seat each.