JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- South Africa is ready to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to serve the people of Africa and the world, President Thabo Mbekisaid on Friday.

   Speaking at National Heritage Day celebrations in the country's central city of Kimberley, Mbeki said while he was at the 59 assembly of the UN this week, "many asked if South Africa would serve as a permanent member of the Security Council."

   "South Africa is ready to serve the people of Africa and the people of the world in the Security Council," the president was quoted as saying by the South African Press Association.

   On the same day, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma confirmed that the South African government was preparing to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

   "On behalf of our government, I would like to confirm that South Africa is ready to assume this responsibility," she said in a statement issued by her ministry. "Our government and people fully understand the immense responsibilities that would attach to this high position."

   "We are ready to respond to this challenge, fully sensitive to the need to respect the interests and aspirations of all countries and peoples, and the imperative to build an equitable and humane global order," she said.

   One of the issues high on the agenda at the UN General Assembly this year was the expansion of the UN Security Council to include more than just the present five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.

   South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt are among those who are eyeing the position, besides countries from other continents including Japan, India, Germany and Brazil.

   The African Union, the continent's leading organization, had proposed that Africa should be represented permanently on the UN decision making body, but by different African nations who would rotate through the seat.

   But Mbeki said in New York on Thursday that other regions were not in favor of a rotating seat for Africa, and South Africa would push for a permanent seat for itself, according to a report in Friday's local newspaper The Star.

   Mbeki drew similarities with the 2010 Soccer World Cup and the Pan-African Parliament seat, where people had approached South Africa to bid.

   As the strongest economy in Africa, South Africa has been working hard in recent years to establish its role in political arenas both regionally and globally, with aspirations to be the leader of "African Renaissance."

   Addressing the UN General Assembly this week, Mbeki blasted the world body for being unrepresentative, saying it was an instrument of the rich, with a focus on peace and security issues such as terrorism, while ignoring humanity central challenges, namely poverty and underdevelopment. Enditem