India has joined Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, the European Union and Kenya as an initial co-sponsor of the first Partners for Multilateralism (P4M) summit at the United Nations, in a bid for greater cooperation and reform of global institutions.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar co-chaired the summit on Monday on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, European Council and Indian media reports said.
The grouping seeks to reinforce the UN-based multilateral system and advance international law, peace, sustainable development and more representative global institutions. Its members also called for cooperation on climate change, artificial intelligence, global health, supply chains and economic resilience.
Jaishankar said, “We meet at a time when the global order is under stress,” and called for a stronger assertion of multilateralism amid geopolitical tensions and conflicts.
PTI said he said “reformed multilateralism” was a must and argued that “more participative deliberations and more transparent decision-making are both overdue”.
The declaration from the summit said the initiative would remain open to partners from all regions and would seek to strengthen multilateral institutions, including through UN reform efforts.
