Overview
- The Partners for Multilateralism (P4M) inaugural summit was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week and was co-chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and European Council President António Costa.
- Jaishankar used the session to call for reformed multilateralism, urging stronger international law, more transparent decision-making, and practical cooperation on peace, climate action, emerging technologies and health threats.
- He warned that the '4F' crisis of fuel, food, fertiliser and finance cannot be left to itself and urged de‑risking and diversification to reduce chokepoint dominance and supply disruptions.
- P4M’s founders — leaders from the EU, Brazil, Kenya and Canada — say the initiative will be an open, flexible framework rather than a new bloc or bureaucracy and plan to make a formal pitch during the UNGA high-level debate.
- Supporters frame P4M as a middle-power response to rising geopolitical strains and limits on superpower influence and say the group will focus on building coalitions for concrete measures such as guardrails for AI, supply-chain resilience and improved development finance.