NEW YORK - Turkey`s foreign minister will travel to New York on Monday to lobby for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will spend three days in New York and ask for support for Turkey`s membership for a non-permanent seat at the Security Council for 2009-2010 period.
The election will take place in September. Three candidates, including Turkey, are competing for two non-permanent seats to be vacant in September, sources said.
Babacan is expected to meet Srgjan Kerim, the president of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and several geographical groups represented at the UN.
The foreign minister will host a reception at the Turkish House in New York for the permanent representatives at the UN, and depart for Turkey on July 24th.
If it becomes a non-permanent member, Turkey plans to support UN reform process; exert effects to make the organization more active in international arena; diminish poverty in the world till 2015; prevent international political crisis before they occur; try to solve problems through peaceful means; counter xenophobia, racism, discrimination, intolerance, extremism and violence; exert efforts to open new channels of dialogue among different cultures and religions; and spread environmental protection consciousness.
The UN Security Council is composed of five permanent members - China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, and ten non-permanent members.
Ten non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms and are not eligible for immediate re-election.
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