India’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ronen Sen at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 20. (Photo: Courtesy, World Affairs Council of Washington)

Washington : India seeks a permanent seat in the UN Security Council on its own merits and not as a developing nation, India’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ronen Sen said at the National Press Club on Oct 20. Sen said there is no way India could be excluded from the membership. “It has a sizeable, strong economy, an impressive record of peace-keeping operations around the world, has the fourth largest army in the world, and above all it has a track of record of being a responsible nuclear power. It is a question of parity and rank,” he said. “You can apply any criteria that you apply to any country across the board and India will qualify.”

He was speaking on ‘India’s Emerging Role in the International Community’ organized by the World Affairs Council, Washington, D.C. Teresita Schaffer, director, South Asia Program, Center for Strategic International Studies, was the moderator.