G4

Why in news?

• The G4 (India, Brazil, Japan and Germany) foreign ministers met on a virtual platform on the sidelines of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

About G4:

• The G4 nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are four countries which support each other's bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
• Unlike the G7, where the common denominator is the economy and long-term political motives, the G4's primary aim is the permanent member seats on the Security Council.
• Each of these four countries have figured among the elected non-permanent members of the council since the UN's establishment. Their economic and political influence has grown significantly in the last decades, reaching a scope comparable to the permanent members (P5).
• The G4 suggested that two African nations, in addition to themselves, be included in the enlarged UNSC
• However, the G4's bids are often opposed by the Uniting for Consensus movement, and particularly their economic competitors or political rivals.

Uniting for Consensus (UFC)

• Uniting for Consensus (UFC) is a movement, nicknamed the Coffee Club, that developed in the 1990s in opposition to the possible expansion of permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council.
• Under the leadership of Italy, it aims to counter the bids for permanent seats proposed by G4 nations (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan) and is calling for a consensus before any decision is reached on the form and size of the Security Council.
• Italy along with Pakistan, Mexico and Egypt, in 1995 founded the "Coffee Club".
• The four countries were united by a rejection of the proposal to increase number of permanent members of the Security Council, instead desiring to encourage the expansion of non-permanent seats.
•  The founders of the group were soon joined by other countries, including Spain, Argentina, Turkey, Canada, and South Korea, and in a short time the group came to include about 50 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Which of the following countries are part of G4 group of nations:    
1.Germany
2.Japan
3.India
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a)1 and 2 only
(b)1 and 3 only
(c)2 and 3 only
(d)1, 2 and 3

Answer to prelims question