Mr. Chairman,
We are at the beginning of a crucial process to reform the central body for the governance of international relationships. And today we are starting out on the right path. This is an unmistakable tribute to the clear and balanced guidance and the forward-looking approach that have characterized the efforts made by President D’Escoto and by yourself. First, in the course of our productive consultations in the Open-Ended Working Group over the past three months. And today, through the “work plan” and the “agenda” you have circulated to Member States.
The work plan represents a concrete tool to ensure an open and inclusive approach. It constitutes a genuine, concrete effort to forge a compromise between all the different views expressed so far, and to find a way for us all to move forward in this process. It is a significant achievement. I will limit my remarks to a few comments on the paper circulated by the President.  Mr. Chairman,
I very much appreciate President’s D’Escoto invitation to Member States to, “in a comprehensive fashion, focus on specific parts of our mandate, so as to maximize the chances of success.” We support this invitation to focus on specific parts of our mandate without loosing sight of the whole framework.
This method is consistent with another fundamental basis of this process: the principle that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” otherwise known as the “single undertaking.” This principle was recalled in the Working Group because of the complexity of our negotiations and the need to achieve coherent and effective results.
This comprehensive method applies to the conduct of intergovernmental negotiations, when each and every issue under consideration must be seen in connection with all the other topics under discussion, and at the end of the negotiations, when the summing up of the diplomatic exercise is made. We should duly keep very clear on our mind that with this negotiation we are mandate to reform the “Constitution” of the United Nations.   Mr. Chairman,
We are pleased that, reiterating the contents of Decision 62/557, the work plan states that the intergovernmental negotiations shall take place in an informal setting.
While it is undoubtedly impossible, at this stage, to indicate “when the time comes to take action” and therefore “move to a formal meeting of the General Assembly, whereupon the rules of procedure of the General Assembly will take effect,” Resolution 53/30 is surely among the rules to be applied to any negotiation concerning the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters.
The work plan makes a very important reference to the fact that, according to letter (d) of Decision 62/557, the intergovernmental negotiations in informal plenary of the General Assembly should aim at “seeking a solution that can garner the widest possible political acceptance by Member States.” 
The agenda circulated by the President gives us a sound structure for our discussions, through which we expect Member States to present their views on all issues concerning the reform of the Security Council. As we all know, this is a highly complex matter in which each substantive issue is strictly interlinked to the others. Anyone who has dealt with the working methods of the Security Council is well aware of how closely linked they are to the whole decision-making process, beginning with the question of the veto. The same is true for issues such as categories, regional representation, and the size of the Council. Any discussion of these aspects inevitably invokes the other two. There are yet more examples. Your agenda thus provides us with very useful guidelines.
In the framework that the President is laying down, Mr. Chairman, and in the spirit of openness and inclusiveness of these negotiations, I would like to take the occasion of this first meeting of the intergovernmental negotiations to encourage all Member States to present their views and proposals, as shall we, to seek compromise and to build bridges as stated by the Permanent Representative of Portugal.
I have read with interest the reform proposal circulated a few days ago by the distinguished Representative of the Philippines, Ambassador Davide. It is a constructive contribution to this process, because the positions and proposals of Member States are not simply the basis for the discussion we are opening today: they are at the very core of any intergovernmental negotiation, whose job it is to distill initially divergent views and positions into a single compromise solution.
Therefore, my delegation is very reserved on ideas which have been mentioned, of keeping as the basic reference for negotiations a single proposal or a single scheme, as the one drafted by Cyprus, or some equivalent composite paper for the negotiation. We trust that Member States, as the exclusive subject of these intergovernmental negotiations, are willing and capable to compare proposals, find compromise grounds and truly respond to the demand of the international community. “Political will for compromise”, as said by the Permanent Representative of Romania.   Mr. Chairman,
As you are aware, just two weeks ago the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, H.E. Franco Frattini, hosted in Rome a Ministerial-level meeting on Security Council reform, attended by almost 80 Countries. During the informal discussions some general principles and interests emerged for the negotiations on which we are embarking today. My delegation has already circulated to the UN membership the conclusions drawn by my Minister on the main elements of consensus emerged from that Ministerial-level meeting.
In his final remarks, Minister Frattini noted that, “Only an inclusive reform, one that virtually all UN Member States subscribe to, can enjoy the legitimacy which is needed to strengthen the Security Council, to make it more credible and, I think also, more effective.” Mr. Chairman,
We are looking forward to a real, genuine negotiation. With this goal in mind, I wish once again to express my full support for the guidance of President D’Escoto and yourself. It is this kind of negotiation, conducted under your balanced leadership, that will provide us with concrete opportunities to move this process forward, toward the objective of a strengthened, more credible, and more effective Security Council.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.