Four European Countries Support India’s Push for Permanent UNSC Membership

India’s decades-old demand for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council received fresh backing from four Central European countries at a meeting held on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.

Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic — the four members of the Visegrad Group, or V4 — jointly supported India’s bid during the first V4-India foreign ministers’ meeting. Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár said the four countries agreed that India, as a major country of the Global South and an emerging power in the Indo-Pacific, should have a permanent place on the Security Council.

Why India wants a permanent seat

India has long argued that the structure of the Security Council does not reflect the geopolitical realities of the modern world.

The Council was created in 1945, when much of Asia and Africa was still under colonial rule. India’s case for reform centres on its population, economic importance, growing diplomatic role and contribution to UN peacekeeping and international security.

New Delhi has served eight terms as an elected member of the Security Council, most recently during 2021-22. India has also been active in discussions on counterterrorism, maritime security, development and global governance.

India’s position is that expanding permanent representation would make the UN’s most powerful security body more representative of the contemporary international system.

India has backing from several major powers

The V4 countries join a number of nations that have expressed support for India’s permanent membership aspirations.

France, the UK, the US and Russia have all backed India’s claim at various points. India is also part of the G4 grouping with Brazil, Germany and Japan, which supports the four countries’ respective bids for permanent seats.

However, international support for India does not mean there is agreement on the broader model of Security Council reform.

The challenge of expanding the Security Council

The Security Council currently consists of 15 members — five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. The permanent members are the US, Russia, China, France and the UK. They also possess veto power over substantive Council decisions.

Countries involved in reform negotiations differ over the number of new members, regional representation and whether new permanent members should receive veto rights. China remains the only existing permanent member that has not explicitly supported India’s bid. Beijing has expressed support for reform while also calling for wider consensus on the issue.

Any fundamental change to the Council would require amendments to the UN Charter and support from the required number of UN member states, including the existing permanent members.

Veto power remains a key issue

The question of veto rights is among the most difficult aspects of reform negotiations.

India has argued that there should not be two classes of permanent members — one with veto powers and another without them. New Delhi has supported an “all or none” approach, under which new permanent members would receive the same rights and responsibilities as the existing P5.

The African Union has also pushed for greater permanent representation for Africa and has raised the issue of equal treatment for any new permanent members.

India and V4 look to deepen ties

The UNSC issue was discussed alongside a broader effort to strengthen India’s engagement with the four Central European nations.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the first V4-India meeting as a “new historic occasion”. The sides agreed to explore an annual business forum and hold regular meetings between their foreign ministers.

Their discussions also covered technology, innovation, defence, space, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges. The ministers exchanged views on international developments, including the Ukraine conflict and the situation in the Gulf.

What the V4 support adds

The backing from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic gives India another collective group of European countries supporting its permanent-membership campaign.

It does not, however, settle the wider debate over Security Council reform. The final outcome will depend on negotiations among UN member states, including agreement on the number of new seats, regional representation and the powers that would accompany any new permanent membership.