Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia will bid to join the United Nations Security Council from 2029, as he launched a campaign to secure one of the two non-permanent seats available to its bloc.
He disclosed this while speaking to reporters in New York on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
“Australia punches above our weight, and we can have an impact on the world, and that’s what I want to see Australia do,” he stated.
Albanese said Australia, whose last two-year term on the council ended in 2014, would have an opportunity to play a key role in shaping global responses to issues that matter to Australians if elected to the Security Council.
Albanese said he expected “very strong support” from Pacific island countries and Southeast Asia.
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He described that his “strong relationships” with world leaders would help Australia’s bid.
The rapid developments in AI and effects of climate change will be among the world’s top challenges by the end of this decade, making it in Australia’s national interest to be involved in the UN Security Council, he added.
However, the UN Security Council has 10 non-permanent members, with five elected each year. Finland is the other nominee, alongside Australia, for the 2029-30 seat from the Western European and Others Group.
The Asia-Pacific, African, Latin American and Caribbean groups will also put forward their nominees by Voting to select the non-permanent members for the 2029-2030 term, which is expected to take place by secret ballot in 2028.
The United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom make up the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Reuters
