‘No going back on security council reform’

international peace and security and in laying the solid foundations of a new architecture of collective security.”

Terzi made the remarks at a Rome meeting where United Nations members from over 60 countries met to foster political dialogue on the topic of UN Security Council reform, ahead of the resumption of discussions in New York over the coming weeks.

At the ministerial meeting, co-chaired by Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Gonzalo de Benito Secades, Terzi said the world needed a Security Council “with which every UN member can identify” by expanding the number of members to make it more representative in consideration of states’ contributions to the maintenance of international peace and security.

More than 70 member states have never taken part in the UN Security Council in 68 years, and almost 200 countries are represented by only 15 states, five of which on a permanent basis with veto power.

Terzi said increasing the number of countries elected by all the UN members to a rotating seat on the Council would mean greater effectiveness, while an increase in permanent members would run the risk of “crystallizing situations that may not, over time, reflect the balance of international relations.”

Italy’s “excellent relations with China and preparations for the next bilateral governmental committee meeting” was another topic of discussion between Terzi and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in the margins of the Rome meeting, a statement from the Italian foreign ministry said.

The committee, co-chaired by the ministers of both countries, will take place in the Italian capital late this year to boost bilateral relations and strategic partnership, it said. – Xinhua.