India’s long-running campaign for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council has received fresh backing from four Central European countries, with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic collectively supporting New Delhi’s push during the first Visegrád Group-India foreign ministers’ meeting in New York.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly and brought External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar together with representatives of the four Visegrád Group, or V4, countries. Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár, speaking on behalf of the group, said all four countries agreed that India should become a permanent member of the Security Council.
Blanár described India as an important voice of the Global South and a rising power in the Indo-Pacific, saying the country “must be at the table” as a permanent member of the Security Council. The collective endorsement adds to international support for India’s argument that the UN’s most powerful decision-making body should be reformed to better reflect the contemporary global order.
Jaishankar described the inaugural V4+India meeting as a significant new step in India’s relationship with the four countries. The five sides agreed to establish annual meetings of their foreign ministers and deepen economic engagement through an Annual Business Forum. They also identified technology and innovation, research and education, connectivity, mobility, cultural exchanges and people-to-people ties as areas for expanded cooperation.
Defence cooperation was another focus. Jaishankar said India has a strong history of defence ties with the V4 countries and wants to renew and expand those relationships. The ministers also discussed major international developments, including the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Gulf.
The V4 endorsement comes as India continues to press for broader reform of the Security Council. The body currently consists of 15 members — five permanent members, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and 10 elected members serving two-year terms. India has served eight terms as an elected member but has sought permanent membership as part of a wider expansion of the Council.
Support from the four European countries does not itself give India a permanent seat. Expanding permanent membership would require an amendment to the UN Charter, including approval by two-thirds of the UN General Assembly and subsequent ratification by two-thirds of UN members, including all five existing permanent Security Council members.
The V4 backing nevertheless provides India with another collective endorsement as New Delhi uses UNGA81 to advocate what Jaishankar has called “reformed multilateralism,” including more representative international institutions and greater participation in global decision-making.
