External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday said that India and Africa comprised nearly 2.5 billion people and “can no longer be excluded from their rightful place” in the United Nations Security Council. Addressing a ministerial meeting at the third India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi, Swaraj said, "How can we expect legitimacy from a governance structure that excludes the entire African continent and a country which represents one-sixth of humanity?"

Noting that democratic reforms are essential in global institutions, Swaraj said the 70th session of the UN General Assembly is an opportune moment to achieve concrete results to resolve these long-pending issues. She also brought up the issue of terrorism, saying that cooperation and sharing intelligence between countries was important to battle the problem.