New Delhi . External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the United Nations is not able to keep pace with the changing global scenario but is occupying space in the market. At the Kautilya Economic Conference, Jaishankar stressed that the United Nations has failed to keep pace with the world, forcing countries to find alternative ways to deal with global challenges.
S Jaishankar said, since this is an economic conference, I will give you a business answer. The United Nations, in a way, is like an old company, not quite keeping up with the market, but taking up space. Startups and innovations begin when companies lag behind the world. Different people start doing their own things.
Jaishankar said, after all, the United Nations is there, but it is too weak to function, although it is still the only multilateral player. But when it does not come forward on key issues, countries find their own ways.
Speaking on the role of the United Nations during the Covid-19 pandemic, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar mentioned its limited contribution. He said, probably the biggest event that happened in our lives was Covid. Just think about what the UN did in Covid, I think the answer is not very much.
The External Affairs Minister also discussed the role of the United Nations in major global conflicts, particularly the Russia-Ukraine war and the ongoing Middle East crisis. Jaishankar said, two very serious conflicts are going on in the world. Where is the United Nations among them? Essentially a mute spectator. As you saw even during Covid, countries either worked in their own way or initiatives like Covax came forward, which had a group of countries behind them.
The External Affairs Minister said, nowadays when it comes to big issues, you will find that groups of countries come together and say, let’s agree on this and do it. He said, the United Nations will remain, but a non-UN space is also developing rapidly, which is an active space.