Jaishankar is expected to arrive in the United States over the weekend before attending meetings at the UN headquarters, where the campaign is scheduled to be formally unveiled on Monday. He is also due to hold talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and interact with representatives of member states whose votes will determine the outcome of the election.
The New York programme forms part of a six-country tour covering Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United States and Belgium from July 5 to 15. Jaishankar completed the Gulf leg on Friday after meetings focused on bilateral cooperation, regional security, trade, energy and developments surrounding Iran and the strategic waterways of West Asia.
India announced its candidature for the 2028-29 Security Council term in December 2022. The New York event will begin the more visible phase of the campaign, involving sustained outreach to the UN’s 193 member states and efforts to consolidate support within the Asia-Pacific regional group.
Candidates for elected Council seats require a two-thirds majority of members present and voting in the UN General Assembly. Regional groups usually endorse nominees before the election, although contested races can require several rounds of balloting. Five of the Council’s 10 elected seats are filled each year for two-year terms.
India has served eight terms as a non-permanent member, most recently during 2021 and 2022. Its earlier terms were in 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92 and 2011-12. During its last tenure, it held the rotating Council presidency twice and promoted debates on maritime security, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping and reform of multilateral institutions.
The campaign is expected to emphasise India’s contribution to UN peacekeeping, its development partnerships with countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and its role in representing the priorities of developing economies. New Delhi has argued that global institutions created after the Second World War no longer reflect present economic, demographic and political realities.
India’s candidature for an elected seat runs alongside its longer-standing demand for permanent membership of an expanded Security Council. It is part of the G4 grouping with Brazil, Germany and Japan, which supports permanent seats for all four countries and greater representation for Africa.
Security Council reform has remained stalled because changes require approval by two-thirds of the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of UN members, including all five permanent members. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States hold veto powers, making any restructuring dependent on agreement among geopolitical rivals.
Jaishankar’s meeting with Guterres is likely to cover Security Council reform, armed conflicts, terrorism, peacekeeping, development financing and the pressure facing the multilateral system. Wars, veto disputes and divisions among permanent members have repeatedly prevented unified Council action, strengthening calls for changes to its composition and working methods.
The minister may also discuss instability in West Asia following his meetings in Doha, Manama, Kuwait City and Muscat. Qatar and Oman have played important diplomatic roles in regional negotiations, while the Gulf states remain central to India’s energy supplies, trade links and the welfare of millions of expatriate workers.
Jaishankar’s Gulf discussions included exchanges with senior leaders and foreign ministers on regional tensions, economic partnerships and connectivity. The visits carried added significance because Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman maintain distinct diplomatic relationships across regional rivalries and remain influential in negotiations affecting maritime security and energy markets.
After the New York engagements, Jaishankar will travel to Brussels for talks with European Union and Belgian leaders. He is scheduled to participate in the third India-EU Trade and Technology Council meeting, a mechanism addressing trade, digital governance, clean technologies, resilient supply chains and strategic economic cooperation.
The broader tour links India’s campaign at the UN with its bilateral priorities in the Gulf, the United States and Europe. Diplomats are expected to use the months ahead to secure written endorsements, build support across regional blocs and present India as a candidate capable of bridging divisions between developed and developing countries.
