New Delhi

India's External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar has slammed the United Nations (UN) for being a bystander when it comes to international affairs while stating that the international organisation was behaving like an "old company, not entirely keeping up with the market but still occupying the space".

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Jaishankar was speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi where he made the scathing remarks. 

"At the end of the day, however sub-optimal it is in functioning, it is still the only multilateral game in town but when it doesn't step up on key issues, countries figure out their own ways of doing it," Jaishankar said

"Let's take the last 5-10 years, probably the biggest thing which happened in our lives was COVID. Think about what did the UN do on COVID. I think the answer is not very much," he added. 

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Referring to the ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East and the UN's inability to stop them, Jaishankar stated, "Where is the UN on them, essentially a bystander?"

"Increasingly there is a non-UN space," he added. 

Watch | Indian EAM S Jaishankar says 'era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over

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India seeks permanent membership 

India has been seeking permanent membership in a reformed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for several years now, but to no avail.

Despite the US, UK, France and Bhutan among other countries voicing support for India's bid to become a permanent member last week during the 79th UN General Assembly in New York, not much has been done to address the issue.  

Also read | Dinner with Kim Jong Un or George Soros? Indian EAM Jaishankar's witty reply wins internet

India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the UNSC eight times, with the most recent being the 2021-22 term. In May earlier this year, Jaishankar said New Delhi was exerting pressure to get a permanent seat in the UNSC

“Regarding UNSC's permanent membership, our aim is to get it as soon as possible. But, this target won’t be achieved that soon. Because the permanent members still enjoy a lot of clout. Whether it’s the Ukraine or Gaza, they have dealings amongst themselves on issues that affect the whole world. So, they won’t want it (number of permanent members) to become six, seven or eight," said Jaishankar at the time. 

"So, if we have to come, we will have to make everyone aware, putting pressure and persuading them, only then will we achieve our target,” he added. 

(With inputs from agencies)