'Post-Iraq war UNGA session important'

Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani (L) greets Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during a departure ceremony at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport yesterday. Vajpayee left on a three-nation tour that will include the first UN General Assembly since the Iraq war, a session Vajpayee said will be "most important" in determining the world body's future. Photo: AFP

"This session is most important. To what extent the world community could maintain global peace and carry everybody along with it will be discussed," said Vajpayee, who is set to address the session September 25.

"The role and structure of the UN has been called into question by some recent development. (And the) presence at the UN General Assembly provides opportunity for exchange of views on these matters with a number of world leaders from different regions," Vajpayee said in a departure statement.

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The Indian leader will first travel to Turkey on his 13-day trip abroad. He will hold talks with US President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the UN meeting in New York and also visit Switzerland.

India was critical of the US-led war in Iraq which did not enjoy specific UN authorisation, although New Delhi has considered -- and so far rejected -- US calls to send peacekeeping troops to the war-torn country.

India in the runup to the General Assembly session has stepped up its demand for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, seizing on calls by Secretary General Kofi Annan for an overhaul of the world body.

The make-up of the five permanent veto-wielding Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- dates back more than half a century and the idea of expansion has gained currency since the Iraq war.