New Delhi: During his address at the Kautilya Economic Conclave, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar offered a critical assessment of the United Nations, comparing it to "an old company" struggling to adapt to modern global challenges. He remarked, "What you have today is, yes, there is a UN. At the end of the day, however suboptimal it is in functioning, it is still the only multilateral game in town."

Jaishankar particularly pointed out the UN’s inefficacy during critical global events like the Covid-19 pandemic. “Think about what the UN did on Covid. I think the answer is not very much,” he commented, highlighting that nations had to act independently or form coalitions, such as the Covax initiative, to combat the crisis effectively. Further, the minister criticized the UN’s passive role in handling ongoing global conflicts, asserting that it often remained a "bystander" in crucial situations. He noted that as countries face pressing global issues, there is an increasing trend toward forming independent alliances to address these challenges. “Increasingly, you find combinations of countries who come together and say, let’s agree on this and let’s go and do it,” Jaishankar stated.

While he acknowledged the continued existence of the UN, Jaishankar emphasized the emergence of a "non-UN space" where countries are taking proactive steps to coordinate and respond to global challenges. This, he suggested, reflects the growing sentiment that nations must find alternatives when traditional multilateral organizations fail to act decisively.

The minister’s remarks echo a broader global discourse on the relevance and effectiveness of international institutions in a rapidly changing, multipolar world. Jaishankar is expected to visit Pakistan on October 15-16 for the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting.

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