External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday expressed confidence about India’s bid for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying that no big achievement comes without hard work.

“We will surely get it. But, no big achievement comes without hard work. So we will have to work hard for it. This time, we will have to put an extra effort because what has happened till now is that the UN was formed around 80 years ago…at that time, there were five nations which decided that they will become the permanent members of the UN security Council,” he said at an event in Rajkot.

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He underlined that it is a weird thing to know that the same five nations who have kept their control are being asked whether or not the change should take place in the security council.

“At that time, there were 50 independent countries. In the last 80 years, the number of those countries have now reached 193-194. But, what these five nations have done is kept their control…and the weird thing is that you are asking those 5 nations only that you decide and agree upon whether this change should be carried out. Some of them agree and some do not. Some put their positions clearly, some do other things in the back-channel…this has been happening for years,” the minister said.

However, there has been a strong rise in the sentiment that the system should change now, he said.

“This system should change and India should get a permanent seat in the UNSC,” Jaishankar said, adding that a lot of negotiations are going on in the present scenario and India should be persistent with this.

“These days, a lot of negotiations are going on….multiple ideas have been put forward…some by Arab and African countries. We along with Japan, Germany and Brazil have also put forward a proposal. I think we should be persistent with this…” the EAM said.

As he further went on to speak, Jaishankar noted that the UN has got very weak.

“Today there is a feeling that the UN has become very weak. There was a deadlock at the UN regarding the Ukraine conflict, there was no agreement from the UN’s side on the war in Gaza,” Jaishankar said.

“So, I think as the pressure of this sentiment will rise, our possibility of getting a permanent seat at the UNSC will also rise,” he added.

India has long sought a permanent seat on the security council to better represent the interests of the developing world.

The nation’s quest has gained momentum with support from influential figures like Dennis Francis, who believes in India’s capability to contribute positively to global peace and security.

India has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for eight terms (16 years). India is a member of the G4, a group of nations that back each other to seek permanent membership in the UNSC. The countries advocate for reform in the UNSC.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his France visit in July 2023, made a strong pitch for India’s permanent membership in the UN Security Council, saying the primary UN body cannot claim to be speaking for the world when its most populous country and the largest democracy is not a permanent member.