BRIC to be a strong force in UN Security Council: Puri

All the BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India and China - would be member of the UN Security Council in the coming year and could present a united front on several contentious issues, a top Indian diplomat has said.

"This, of course, is predicated on India being elected in October, which is widely anticipated," India's envoy to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters.

"BRIC coordination in the Security Council becomes a fact of life," he said after a meeting with the foreign ministers of the three other countries yesterday.

Earlier this year, Kazakhstan withdrew from the race leaving India as a sole runner from Asia for the two year term. The last time India had a seat on the Security Council was in 1992.

Puri pointed out that BRIC members would be four out of the 15 members on the Security Council and South Africa could also win a seat, this year, as it was an endorsed candidate for Africa.

"That makes it five out of 15 that is 30 per cent or more of the Security Council," he said, adding that is a very important development.

Puri also noted that the group collectively expressed the need to move their discussions beyond the economic realm.

"There was a clear preference expressed by some that BRIC should not confine itself to mere economic issues. The more important political issues should be discussed," he said.

Leaders of BRIC will meet in China early next year.

Puri also said that BRIC nations, who are members of the G-20, have decided to engage in "outreach activities" so that the group of the 20 biggest economies did not appear as a "select group of big boys."