Jeffrey Sachs Endorses India’s Bid for a Sixth Permanent UN Security Council Seat

At the 18th BRICS Dialogues in New Delhi, economist Jeffrey Sachs urged that India be granted a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). He argued that India possesses the strongest claim among non-permanent members and called on China to support the bid, framing the move as essential for a more multipolar world order.

CNN-News18Hindustan TimesCNN-News18First PostIndia will be world’s largest economy this century, China ties can build multipolar world: US economist Jeffrey Sachs

India has long campaigned for UNSC reform, seeking to join the five existing permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The push gained renewed visibility during the recent BRICS summit, where leaders reiterated support for broader UN reforms. While France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States have expressed backing, China has not yet offered formal endorsement.

CNN-News18

• Population: ? 1.5 billion, the world’s most populous nation.

India will be world’s largest economy this century, China ties can build multipolar world: US economist Jeffrey Sachs

• Economic size: Third-largest economy by purchasing-power parity, with projections that India and China will become the two largest economies within the next 25 years.

India will be world’s largest economy this century, China ties can build multipolar world: US economist Jeffrey Sachs

• Current UNSC composition: Five permanent members with veto power and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

CNN-News18

Sachs highlighted India’s diplomatic track record, citing its recent G20 presidency and its role in steering the BRICS summit as evidence of “extremely deft” multilateral engagement. He noted that expanding the Council would reflect the realities of global power distribution and strengthen multilateralism.

Hindustan Times

Four of the five permanent members—France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States—have publicly supported India’s bid, whereas China has so far stopped short of formal backing. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel has proposed reforming the veto mechanism to allow a two-thirds majority to override a veto, a change that would further open the Council to new permanent members.

CNN-News18

Granting India a permanent seat would reshape the UNSC’s geographic and demographic representation, aligning the body with contemporary population and economic weight. Proponents argue that India’s inclusion could counterbalance unilateral tendencies and reinforce a multipolar order, while also encouraging greater cooperation between India and China on global governance issues.

CNN-News18

Sources agree that China has not formally endorsed India’s bid, but do not provide details on the reasons for Beijing’s hesitation or any ongoing diplomatic negotiations. Information on the timeline for potential UNSC reform remains absent.

CNN-News18

• “Think of all countries in the world, there is no country other than India that has such a strong claim as the sixth permanent member of the UN Security Council,” — Jeffrey Sachs

Hindustan Times

• “So to my mind, to build that multilateralism, India absolutely should be a member of the UN Security Council,” — Jeffrey Sachs

Hindustan Times