Monday, July 18 2005 14:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New York: The first substantive meeting between Foreign Ministers of India, Japan, Germany and Brazil, comprising the G4, and the African Union (AU), ended here on a positive note with both sides vowing to overcome remaining differences over the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) expansion.

The two sides wrapped up talks yesterday (July 17, 2005), expressing firm determination to present in the United Nations General Assembly, a joint draft resolution on the expansion of the Security Council.

The Foreign Ministers of both sides will meet again in Geneva on July 25 to review in-depth discussions that their UN ambassadors in New York will begin soon to thrash out remaining differences.

Summing up the mood of the participants, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, who hosted the extended luncheon meeting said, "they want differences between them not only to narrow down but to disappear."

"They had extremely useful, constructive and frank exchange of views in an atmosphere of cooperation and understanding", he told reporters.

The meeting, which was scheduled to last three hours, dragged on for more than four hours as the Ministers said they would like to sort out the issue at the earliest.

A joint statement issued at the end of the meeting said the two sides discussed a way forward and prospects for a common action with regard reform of the UN Security Council.

They also held a frank discussion on differences in their respective proposals, it said.

The two sides agreed to establish a joint mechanism and vowed to work expeditiously to explore ways to overcome the differences and arrive at a common position, the statement said.

Indian Ambassador Nirupam Sen said, "The two sides discussed in depth the issue of veto, on which there are differences."

He rejected the suggestion that any compromise between G4 and the African Union could lead to split in AU votes and said all regions of Africa were represented at the meeting.

Ministers from Nigeria, which currently chairs AU, South Africa, Libya and Egypt were among 18 counties who represented the AU.

On the G4 side, Foreign Ministers of Japan, Germany and Brazil besides Natwar Singh participated in animated talks.

During the discussions, diplomats and participants said there was similarities between stands adopted by the two sides and differences were not as wide to defy solution.

They said the establishment of a mechanism to iron out differences at the first meeting showed the seriousness with which the leaders viewed their discussions.