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Panama on Monday expressed strong support for reforms of global governance institutions, saying the current international order no longer reflects present-day realities and backing India's bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Panama's Foreign Minister Javier Eduardo Martinez-Acha Vasquez said India, as the world's largest democracy and an emerging superpower, deserves a greater role in global decision-making. "Today's world doesn't reflect the circumstances of 80 years ago. India is an emerging superpower, is the biggest democracy in the world, and in our opinion, the world governance needs transformation to reflect the reality of today's world," the minister said. He said Panama strongly supports India's inclusion as a permanent member of the UNSC. "So, we see with good feelings and with strong support that India could become part of the Security Council," he said. The minister also advocated broader reforms to make the United Nations more representative, saying Latin America and the Caribbean should also have a permanent seat on the Security Council. "We need to balance, we need to create equilibrium in the United Nations. We do also support that Latin America and the Caribbean could hold a permanent seat in the Security Council of the United Nations. That could promote more dialogue and more balanced conversations of different international issues," he said. He added that expanding representation would enable the UN to respond more effectively to global crises. "The world could be more represented in the United Nations, and the world could be more responsive to different crises because you could have input from different regions. That's what we need. The world is complicated today; we face different tensions, different conflicts, and without any change in the global governance, I think solutions will be difficult to achieve," he said. Asked about India's candidature for a non-permanent UNSC seat for the 2028-29 term, the Panamanian Foreign Minister said his country would honour its existing international commitments before taking a decision. "We need to see the commitments of the previous government because my President and my country have always behaved in a very serious manner. We do see India with a lot of positive energy, but we need to follow our international commitments," he said. On counter-terrorism cooperation, the minister reiterated Panama's support for India's position of zero tolerance towards terrorism. "There is no justification for terrorism--no religious justification, no political justification--and we stand next to India. We need to collaborate to mitigate the risk of terrorism," he said. He also cautioned against the nexus between terrorism and organised crime. "Terrorism could also partner with narcotrafficking, and that's a very dangerous combination. So, even though we are far away, we could engage in cooperation in terms of security and intelligence to mitigate the risk of terrorism and narcotrafficking," he added. Responding to a question on Venezuela, Martinez-Acha said Panama continues to support a democratic resolution to the country's political crisis. "As you know, my government, my President, recognised Edmundo Gonzalez as the President-elect. But there is a reality now in Venezuela after January 3rd," he said. He expressed hope that regional diplomacy would help restore democratic governance in Venezuela. "We hope that we could work with the USA and with many other countries around the region in Latin America to help Venezuela find a democratic path toward free and very, very transparent elections in the near future. We hope that Venezuela can rule itself in a democratic platform and be part of the international community very soon," the Panamanian Foreign Minister said. (ANI)
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