UN Like 'Old Company', Not Entirely Keeping Up With Market: Jaishankar

EAM S Jaishankar expressed disapproval of the UN, comparing it to "an old company" that only occupies space rather than fully adapting to the market.

New Delhi:External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday took a critical view of the United Nations, saying it was "like an old company", not entirely keeping up with the market but occupying the space. During an interaction at the Kautilya Economic Conclave here, he also said that two very serious conflicts are going on in the world. "And where is the UN on them, essentially a bystander," the minister said.

In response to a query on the possible outcome of the US elections, he said the US actually has "made a shift", geopolitically and in its economic outlook, and irrespective of the outcomes in November, many of these trends will "intensify" in the days to come. Jaishankar took part in the interactive session on 'India and the Globe' and spoke of India's role and challenges amid changing global dynamics.

"So, we are both a lifting tide and a bit of paradoxical one, a ballast as well," Jaishankar said as he enumerated some of the steps India has taken to help other countries, including its neighbours such as Sri Lanka. Asked about his upcoming visit to Pakistan to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), he again sought to rule out any bilateral talks with his Pakistani counterpart.

"I am going there for a certain job, a certain responsibility. And, I take my responsibilities seriously. So, I am going there to represent India at the SCO meeting, and that is what I am going to do," Jaishankar said. At an event on Saturday, the external affairs minister said that he was going to Islamabad for a "multilateral event" and not to discuss India-Pakistan relations.

In his response to a query on the United Nations' role amid the changing global scenario, he took a rather critical view of the world body that was born in 1945 after the Second World War. Initially, it had 50 countries, which has grown over these years to nearly four times. "The UN is in a way like an old company, not entirely keeping up with the market, but occupying the space. And, when it's behind times, in this world you have start-ups and innovations, so different people start doing their own things," Jaishankar said.

"So, what you have today is that yes you have a UN at the end, however suboptimal in functioning, it is still the only multilateral game in town," he added. "But, when it doesn't step up on key issues, countries figure out their own ways of doing it. For example, let's take the last five-10 years, probably the biggest thing that happened in our life was Covid. Now, what did the UN do on Covid? I think the answer is -- not very much," the minister said.

Jaishankar said, "Now, you have two conflicts going on in the world today, two very serious conflicts, where is the UN on them, essentially a bystander," he said. So, what is happening, as it did during Covid also, countries did their own thing such as the initiative like Covax that was done by a group of countries, the minister said. "When it comes to big issues of the day, you have an increasing combination of countries coming together to agree to do something."

He cited the examples of connectivity initiatives like the India-MiddleEast-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), QUAD in Indo-Pacific to look after the global commons, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), saying all these bodies came outside the UN framework.

"Today, the UN will continue, but increasingly there is a non-UN space which is the active space and I think it's telling on the UN," Jaishankar added. More than 75 years after its inception, the United Nations is still working to maintain international peace and security, give humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights, and uphold international law, according to the UN website.

India has been demanding reforms in the world body and its UN Security Council in sync with the changed times. Earlier this year, Jaishankar suggested that the "short-sighted" approach of the five permanent members of the UNSC is holding back forward movement in the long-pending reform of the global body. The five permanent members are Russia, the UK, China, France and the US and these countries can veto any substantive resolution.

Jaishankar was asked about a possible outcome of the US elections and how will India engage with the new administration. "You spoke of one possibility of the two in the American elections. I stress to you, look back over the last five years, how many of the policies which in 2020 people thought were the Trump administration's policies actually not just carried over by Biden but they doubled down on those policies," he said.

So, this is not just a politician, it's not just a fashion, just one administration. "I think there are very deep shifts happening," the minister added. "This is... America which actually has made a shift, geopolitically and in its economic outlook and has come to the conclusion that the order which itself devised many years ago no longer works to its benefit to that degree," he said.

"So, I would argue, irrespective of the outcomes in November, many of these trends will intensify in the days to come. And, you are going to get, I would call it a more fractured world, but I would say, in some ways, reliability and transparency are going to be two very key factors which will become a metric for countries to have enterprises and domains to have dealings with each other," he said.

On a question on the Global South, Jaishankar said that it itself has a "great value". "It is a collective. We don't expect to be the leader. We are seen as a trusted member, an articulate member... So, I am not really comfortable with the idea that you walk away from the Global South. On the contrary, I see value," the minister said. He also spoke on the role and impact of artificial intelligence in shaping the world going forward.