Jaishankar To Launch India's UNSC 2028-29 Campaign, Meet UN Chief Guterres In New York

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will formally launch India's campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2028-29 term during a visit to New York next week, while also holding talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the world body's headquarters. According to a schedule of meetings released by the UN, Guterres is set to meet Jaishankar on Monday afternoon, the same day India's campaign is scheduled to be formally unveiled at a special event at UN headquarters .

India last held a seat at the UNSC horseshoe table during the 2021-22 term. Elections for the 2028-29 term will be held in June next year, with India competing against Tajikistan for the sole seat allotted to the Asia Pacific Group. The vote comes at a time of significant global strain, with the international community grappling with the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza and the ongoing US-Israel confrontation with Iran. India's campaign carries the message hashtag India for UNSC 2028-29 Peace Planet Progress.

Jaishankar's meeting with Guterres is expected to cover Security Council reform, ongoing armed conflicts, terrorism, peacekeeping operations, development financing and the broader pressures facing the multilateral system. Prime Minister Narendra Modi , addressing the Indonesian Parliament this week, said that developing countries like India are seeking equal participation and a greater role in global affairs as the international order shifts rapidly. New Delhi has repeatedly pushed for expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent categories of UNSC membership, warning that reform limited only to non-permanent seats would fail to alter the underlying power structure held by the five permanent members. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni , said last month that a nothing is agreed until everything is agreed approach must not be used as a tool to block progress on reform.

The New York leg forms part of a broader six nation tour for Jaishankar running from July 5 to 15, which began with visits to Qatar , Bahrain , Kuwait and Oman focused on bilateral cooperation, regional security, trade and energy ties, along with discussions on instability in West Asia . After his engagements in New York, Jaishankar will travel to Brussels to attend the third India EU Trade and Technology Council meeting with his European Union and Belgian counterparts.