Thursday, June 2 2005 14:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Vladivostok : Striking a positive note, China today (Jun 2, 2005) assured that it would not be an obstacle to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

This was conveyed during an hour-long breakfast meeting between External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh and his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing.

Li reiterated that assurances and commitments given by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to India in April should be fully respected, Indian officials said.

China holds that India has an important role to play in international affairs.

On the issue of inclusion of new permanent members in the Security Council, Beijing has maintained that there should be consensus.

Officials said there was an exchange of views on the recent draft resolution mooted by the Group of four countries comprising India, Germany, Japan and Brazil among UN members, and other developments pertaining to UN reforms and Security Council expansion.