External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will unveil the campaign for India's stint as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2028-29 term when he visits the UN headquarters in New York next week. The outreach will officially launch New Delhi's diplomatic push ahead of the United Nations General Assembly elections in 2027, when India will try to win the Asia-Pacific seat.
The campaign is the first step in India's bid to take its place in the Asia-Pacific bloc in the elections to be held during the 82nd session of the UN General Assembly in 2027. India will be a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the ninth term.
Jaishankar's visit to New York comes on the heels of a broader tour to six countries -- Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United States and Belgium.
India Seeks Broader Global Backing
India's campaign coincides with its efforts to overhaul long-delayed UN reforms, which India has long been seeking, and also aims to make the current world governance body more attuned to modern geopolitical realities.
A series of successive Indian governments have insisted that the Security Council must be more representative, both in terms of permanent members and the number of non-permanent members, especially in terms of providing more voice to developing countries.
In his keynote speeches at various international platforms this year, Jaishankar has been emphasising the need to reform the institutions established after the Second World War in order to keep them credible and effective to deal with the contemporary conflicts and challenges of the world.
Competition For The Asia-Pacific Seat
India's offer is unlikely to be opposed. Tajikistan has also become a contender for the Asia-Pacific position and is supported by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which is making the campaign one of New Delhi's biggest foreign diplomacy efforts ahead of the upcoming UN elections in 2027.
Election to the non-permanent Council seats is by secret ballot of the UN General Assembly, where the votes of two-thirds of the members voting are needed for a candidate to be elected.
India's Record At The Security Council
India is a non-permanent member of the UNSC, serving a total of eight times, the latest of which being for the term 2021-22.
In its previous term, New Delhi had emphasised maritime security, counterterrorism, peacekeeping, technology, and reforms of multilateral institutions and reiterated its desire to be a permanent member of an expanded Security Council.
New Delhi has consistently claimed that it should have a bigger say in global decision-making due to its claim that it is the world's most populous country, a major economy, has a significant contribution to UN peacekeeping operations, and is a leading voice of the Global South.
New Delhi has argued that, as the world's most populous country, a major economy, the leading contributor of troops to UN peacekeeping missions, and a leading voice of the Global South, it has a right to play a bigger role in global decision-making.
The permanent membership is supported by several countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia, but efforts for change in the Council have remained inconclusive for years.
