[Title] Ministerial Meeting of the G4 Countries (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan) in the margins of the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly Joint Press Statement

1.The Minister of External Relations of Brazil, the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Foreign Secretary of India met in New York on 25 September 2012, in the margins of the opening of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, to exchange views on Security Council reform.

2.Recalling also their previous joint statements, the Ministers reiterated their common vision of a reformed Security Council, taking into consideration the contributions made by countries to the maintenance of international peace and security and other purposes of the organisation, as well as the need for increased representation of developing countries in both categories, in order to better reflect today's geopolitical realities. The G4 countries reiterated their commitments as aspiring new permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as their support for each other's candidatures. They also reaffirmed their view of the importance of Africa to be represented in the permanent membership of an enlarged Council.

3.The Ministers discussed the progress on Security Council reform achieved thus far, including the discussions held during the eighth round of the intergovernmental negotiations. In this context, the Ministers shared the assessment that an overwhelming majority of member states voiced support for an expansion of the Security Council in both categories of membership, permanent and non-permanent. The Ministers also noted the assessment made to that end by the Chairman of the intergovernmental negotiations, H.E. Ambassador Zahir Tanin, in his letter dated 25 July 2012 to the President of the General Assembly and welcomed his recommendations therein. The 4.Ministers expressed the view that the strong support for an expansion in both categories should be reflected in the negotiation process among member states and called for the drafting of a concise working document as the basis for further negotiations, in line with the recommendations of the Chairman.

The Ministers welcomed the decision by the General Assembly to immediately continue the process of intergovernmental negotiations in the informal plenary of the 67th Session, building on the progress achieved and the recommendations made by the Chairman. The Ministers underlined the need to achieve a concrete outcome in the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly and, in this context, expressed their commitment to continue to work in close cooperation and in a spirit of flexibility with other Member States and Groups of Member States in genuine text-based negotiations. They also expressed their determination to inject greater political momentum into the reform process, including with a view to the holding of a high-level meeting on Security Council reform, as also recommended by the Chairman in his letter which was circulated by the President of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly to member states on 27 July 2012.

5.The Ministers expressed gratitude for the efforts made by the President of the 66th General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser and the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Negotiations, H.E. Ambassador Zahir Tanin. They looked forward to working closely with H.E. Mr. Vuc Jeremic, President of the 67th General Assembly, and his Chairman in order to bring about the urgently needed reform of the Security Council.

Antonio de Aguiar Patriota

Minister of External Relations of Brazil

Guido Westerwelle

Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany

Koichiro Gemba

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan

Ranjan Mathai

Foreign Secretary of India