‘Global order under stress’: Jaishankar calls for stronger multilateralism at UNGA
The External Affairs Minister addressed the inaugural "Partners for Multilateralism" (P4M) Summit held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly's High-Level Week in New York
The address stated that "the global order is under stress" and that "reformed multilateralism is therefore essential," calling for more participative deliberation and transparent decision-making in international institutions
India co-chaired the P4M summit, a new UN-linked coalition founded by the European Union, Brazil, Kenya, and Canada, alongside the European Council
The coalition's stated focus areas include Security Council reform, governance of artificial intelligence, and climate action
Separately, at the same high-level week, the EAM held a first-of-its-kind ministerial meeting in the "Visegrad Four (V4) plus India" format, described as a "new historic occasion"
The UN General Assembly and High-Level Week
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations, in which all 193 member states hold one vote each (Article 18 of the UN Charter). Its annual "General Debate," held every September in New York, is the centrepiece of "High-Level Week," when heads of state and government and foreign ministers address the Assembly from the General Debate podium.
Key Details
- The 81st session of the UNGA opened on 8 September 2026, with High-Level Week running 22-29 September 2026
- The 81st session is presided over by Bangladesh's representative, under the theme "Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all"
- UNGA resolutions are generally recommendatory (non-binding), unlike UN Security Council resolutions under Chapter VII, which can be binding on member states
- Budgetary and important questions (Article 18(2)) — admission of new members, Security Council election, budget — require a two-thirds majority; other matters need a simple majority
The P4M summit and the V4+India meeting were both convened as side events during this High-Level Week, illustrating how the UNGA's annual gathering functions as a hub for minilateral and plurilateral diplomacy beyond the formal plenary agenda.
"Reformed Multilateralism" and the Pact for the Future (2024)
"Reformed multilateralism" is India's long-standing diplomatic formulation calling for restructuring post-1945 global governance institutions — chiefly the UN Security Council, international financial institutions (IMF/World Bank), and trade bodies — to reflect current geopolitical and economic realities rather than the power balance of 1945. The 2024 Summit of the Future adopted the "Pact for the Future," the most comprehensive UN reform agreement in decades.
Key Details
- The Pact for the Future was adopted by consensus at the Summit of the Future on 22 September 2024, along with two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations
- It commits members to pursue Security Council reform "as a matter of priority and without delay," with emphasis on correcting Africa's historic under-representation
- It also calls for reform of international financial architecture to strengthen the voice of developing countries, and for revitalising the General Assembly and strengthening ECOSOC
- India has framed reformed multilateralism around the G20 presidency (2023) theme "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (One Earth, One Family, One Future) and the push for African Union's permanent G20 membership, achieved in 2023
The call for "reformed multilateralism" at the P4M summit builds directly on the 2024 Pact for the Future's reform commitments, positioning India as a co-convenor pushing to operationalise those commitments rather than let them stall, as past UN reform efforts have.
Minilateral and Plurilateral Diplomacy Formats
Minilateralism refers to small-group cooperation among a limited set of states on specific issues, distinct from universal multilateral forums (UNGA) or formal bilateral relations. India has increasingly used minilateral formats — Quad (India-US-Japan-Australia), I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-US), and now P4M and V4+India — to pursue specific goals with like-minded partners without the gridlock of consensus-based universal bodies.
Key Details
- P4M was co-chaired at its inaugural summit by India's External Affairs Minister and the President of the European Council
- Founding members of P4M are the European Union, Brazil, Kenya, and Canada, spanning four different continents/regions
- Distinguishing feature from a treaty-based organisation: P4M is a coalition/summit format, not a chartered international organisation with a permanent secretariat or binding obligations
- Comparable precedent: the Quad, formalised as a leaders'-level dialogue since 2021, similarly operates without a treaty or standing secretariat
India's decision to co-chair the P4M summit alongside the EU signals a strategy of using flexible, purpose-built coalitions to advance reform goals (UNSC expansion, AI governance, climate finance) that have stalled in universal bodies like the UNGA plenary for decades.
- 81st UNGA session opened: 8 September 2026; High-Level Week: 22-29 September 2026
- P4M founding members: European Union, Brazil, Kenya, Canada; inaugural summit co-chaired by India and the European Council President
- P4M's three stated focus areas: UN Security Council reform, AI governance, climate action
- Pact for the Future adopted: 22 September 2024, by consensus, at the Summit of the Future
- UNGA voting: simple majority for ordinary matters; two-thirds majority for "important questions" under Article 18(2) of the UN Charter
- Guterres' second and final term as UN Secretary-General ends 31 December 2026, making the 81st session his last as UNGA convenor