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Middle Powers Launch Partners for Multilateralism to Push UN Reform

The new P4M network aims to form practical coalitions on climate, AI, health and supply chains while leaving its governance, funding and formal tools undecided.

Overview

  • The inaugural P4M summit was held at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 21–22, 2026 and was co-chaired by India’s S. Jaishankar and European Council President António Costa.
  • Founders Mark Carney, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, António Costa and William Ruto published a Financial Times editorial that set out P4M’s purpose to support UN reform and translate shared principles into action.
  • Summit participants and co-sponsors included India, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Kenya and EU representatives who outlined priorities such as climate, artificial intelligence, health security, supply-chain resilience and the '4F' crisis of fuel, food, fertiliser and finance.
  • Leaders stressed P4M will not become an exclusive bloc or new bureaucracy but the summit left key operational questions open, including whether there will be a secretariat, dedicated funding or binding mechanisms.
  • Organisers framed P4M as a practical response to a strained rules-based order—noting 2025’s spike in state conflicts and record military spending—and said the network will try to build coalitions that can push for faster, more representative UN decision-making and visible results for vulnerable populations.