India joins P4M grouping as New Delhi seeks wider diplomatic options

India has joined a new multilateral grouping of middle powers as New Delhi seeks to expand its diplomatic options, according to the South China Morning Post. The group, called Partners for Multilateralism, or P4M, brings together countries from different regions. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar co-chaired the grouping’s inaugural summit in New York on Monday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Jaishankar said the meeting was taking place at a time when the global order was under stress. The supplied material does not provide the rest of his remarks or identify all the countries participating in the grouping. Analysts cited by the newspaper viewed India’s participation as part of an effort to broaden its diplomatic choices while it presses for changes to the global order.

The material does not specify which reforms India is seeking or explain how P4M will operate. The new group enters an international environment that already includes other multilateral organisations and partnerships, but the supplied information gives no details about its membership criteria, institutional structure or planned agenda. India’s role at the first summit indicates that it intends to participate actively in the initiative.

Beyond Jaishankar’s co-chairing role and the stated diplomatic rationale, no agreements, declarations or policy decisions from the meeting are reported in the available material.