New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) France on Wednesday expressed "strong support" for India and the other G4 countries in their bid for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council.

The reiteration of backing by France came after India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu, on Monday wrote a letter to President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande.

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In the letter, Naidu said the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform are being "held hostage" and used as a "convenient smokescreen" by countries that do not wish to see any changes in the most powerful UN organ.

"France strongly supports India and the G4 in their bid for a permanent seat in a reformed UNSC," French Ambassador to India Emmaneul Lenain said in a tweet.

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He also tagged a media report on India and the other G4 countries -- Brazil, Germany and Japan -- to call for expediting the process for reforming the UN Security Council.

India will join the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021.

India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member of the Council, which in its current form does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st century.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)