By Arun Kumar

Washington, June 4 (IANS) The US has said it is "definitely committed to the consideration of India" as a permanent member of the UN Security Council as and when there is a forward movement on its reform.

"We don't have any way forward yet on Security Council reform, but we are obviously very committed to considering India," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday at a joint press conference after the first ever US-India strategic dialogue here.

"At this point, as you probably know, there is no consensus in the world. And that is the challenge of dealing with multilateral organisations," she said when asked what is stopping the US from endorsing India for a permanent membership in an expanded UNSC when it considered India's as "an indispensable partner and trusted friend".

"Once you get to multilateral negotiations, it slows down considerably. But we are definitely committed to the consideration of India," she said indicating some forward movement on the issue.

Earlier, in her opening statement at the strategic dialogue, Clinton said "India's growing global role requires us to reassess institutions of global governance. India's rise will certainly be a factor in any future consideration of reform of the United Nations Security Council".

India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who led the Indian delegation, "had a very good exchange of views on reforms necessary not only in the international economic architecture but also in the global political and security architecture, including the UN Security Council, so as to reflect contemporary global realities, as President (Barack) Obama's national security strategy also points out".