Busy schedule for Jaishankar at UN as India campaigns for Security Council elections

India on Monday (21 September 2026) joined the Partnership for Multilateralism, backing the “non-superpower” grouping originally formed by the European Union (EU), Brazil, Canada and Kenya, becoming another co-sponsor of the initiative along with Australia and Barbados.

The meeting of the grouping, called P4M, which is expected to build support for the UN and multilateralism, was one of several bilateral and multilateral meetings attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as he and the Indian delegation navigated a demanding to-do list at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week.

At the top of Mr Jaishankar’s agenda this year is to garner support for India in next year’s election to the non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for 2028-2029.

Back to back shots

Within hours of landing in New York on Monday, Mr Jaishankar met the foreign ministers of France, Ecuador, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova and Switzerland. He also met with President Naoero (Nauru), attended the P4M meeting, had further meetings with EU ministers and attended the India-Visegrad Group meeting with the Central European nations of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. On Tuesday, he began negotiations with the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

The meetings with European leaders, as well as meetings expected this week with his counterparts from the United States and Canada, are expected to be preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming December visits to Brussels, Miami and Ottawa.

Officials say the rest of the foreign secretary’s schedule this week – he is expected to remain in New York until he addresses the General Assembly on Saturday (September 26) – will be just as busy for a number of reasons.

UNSC pressure

India has been elected to the UNSC eight times so far and in most cases was the only name proposed for the Asia-Pacific group. This time, however, Tajikistan has also launched its bid for the seat, and unless New Delhi secures a compromise and convinces the Tajik government to step down in exchange for support in future elections, it will turn into a race for the Asian seat.

As a result, all eyes will be on any meeting between Mr Jaishankar and Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin. In addition, Mr. Jaishankar’s meetings with ministers from other Central Asian countries, as well as other parts of the Global South, will also be watched for possible announcements of support for India’s bid.

On the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek earlier this month (September 1), Prime Minister Modi met Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon. However, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials said they could not confirm whether Mr Modi had received any assurances from Mr Rahmon about the UN Security Council seat, given that the meeting was held during the SCO Council of Heads of State summit with restricted access for officials.

Other important orders

Mr. Jaishankar’s visit comes days after the US Congress passed the Lindsey Graham Sanctions Act against Russia and Iran, which seeks to penalize countries that import oil from those countries. India, which last month imported more than 51% of its oil from Russia, is one of the main targets of the law, and US President Donald Trump has been ordered by law to impose tariffs of up to 100% on it. As a result, Mr Jaishankar’s meeting with US Secretary of State Mark Rubio this week will be particularly significant, even as the two men prepare for possible Modi-Trump bilaterals at the ASEAN summit in the Philippines in November and the G20 summit in the US in December.

Another closely watched meeting will be Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, who begins his tenure as General Assembly President at the meeting. Apart from next year’s UN General Assembly agenda and plans to step up the UN reform process being pushed by India, Mr Jaishankar and Mr Rahman are expected to discuss bilateral relations. Tensions have risen between Dhaka and Delhi after a proposed visit by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has so far failed to materialise.

While Mr Jaishankar is expected to meet his counterparts from other South Asian countries, the SAARC foreign ministers’ meeting, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly every year until 2019, has since been canceled due to India-Pakistan tensions.

As of Wednesday (September 23, 2026), this week’s UN General Assembly attendees will be heavily focused on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US from September 23 to 25 and the outcome of the US-China summit in Washington.

The four-member meeting of the foreign ministers of the US, India, Japan and Australia has also become a regular annual event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Published – 22 Sep 2026 21:23 IST