Egypt demands Arab seat on reformed UN Security Council

CAIRO, Sept 13 (AFP) — Egypt wants Arab and Muslim representation on a reformed UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Monday.

“Egypt can never accept an enlargement of the Security Council without Arab and Islamic representation,” Gheit said following talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing.

“The absence of such representation would be something that we could not approve nor allow its adoption.”

A high-level panel appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is currently mapping out a new role for the United Nations in the 21st century, including how to reform principal institutions such as the Security Council.

The president of the UN General Assembly said in March that the global body needs to be reformed to keep up with the changing geopolitical situation.

Following their talks in Cairo, the Egyptian and Chinese ministers agreed to repeat the meeting annually, as part of a “strategic dialogue”.

Concerning the ongoing crisis in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, Gheit said the two countries agreed “on the necessity of not reaching the point when Security Council sanctions are imposed on Khartoum”.

Li, who arrived in Cairo Monday, is also due to meet Arab League secretary seneral Amr Mussa.