India will prioritise countering terror financing, strengthening maritime security and promoting the responsible use of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, if elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2028-29 term, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.

Launching India’s campaign for a UNSC seat at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday, Jaishankar said the country would push for stronger international action against the financial networks supporting terrorism, safer global maritime commerce and a human-centric approach to the governance of AI.

India To Focus On Dismantling Terror Financing Networks

Addressing UN member states, Jaishankar described terrorism as one of the long-standing challenges confronting the international community and said efforts focused only on countering its symptoms would produce limited results.

He said greater attention was required to constrict the financial resources that sustain terrorist organisations.

“Even as the world strives to sustain growth and promote prosperity, some long-standing challenges continue to confront us. Significant among them is terrorism. For far too long, our efforts have concentrated on countering its symptoms. But that would only give us limited results unless we are focused on constricting its resource base,” Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs Minister said India would focus on countering terror financing and support “objective and evidence-based proposals” for listing terrorist groups.

“Our commitment is to concentrate on countering terror financing and encourage objective and evidence-based proposals for the listing of terrorist groups,” he said.

Maritime Security To Be Key Priority At Security Council

Jaishankar identified maritime security as another major priority, saying recent developments had highlighted the importance of protecting global shipping routes and ensuring compliance with international law.

He said interconnected global supply chains depended on safe and uninterrupted maritime commerce.

“In an era where supply chains connect our economies, the world is also increasingly focused on securing the maritime commerce. Recent events have only underlined the need to do so. The challenge begins with ensuring adherence to relevant international law,” Jaishankar said.

He called for cooperation among countries with the necessary capabilities to combat piracy and ensure the safe movement of commercial vessels.

“Our collective interest is in maintaining safe and unimpeded flow of maritime commerce where required. Nations with requisite capabilities must cooperate to combat piracy as well,” he added.

Jaishankar also highlighted the safety of seafarers and India’s contributions to search and rescue operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, capacity building and the sharing of best practices.

He said India’s International Fusion Centre anchors a cooperative network covering the entire Indian Ocean region and added that New Delhi would seek greater attention for maritime security issues at the Security Council.

India Proposes MANAV Framework For Responsible AI Governance

Turning to emerging technologies, Jaishankar said the growing influence of technology on everyday life made it necessary to balance its benefits with potential risks.

He identified Artificial Intelligence as the cutting edge of technological development and said India had proposed a human-centric approach to its governance.

“Artificial Intelligence represents its cutting edge today. India has put forward a human-centric vision of AI that draws on both its capabilities and on India’s traditions,” Jaishankar said.

He said India’s approach was represented by the MANAV framework, an acronym for “Moral and ethical systems, Accountable governance, National sovereignty, Accessible and inclusive, and Valid and legitimate systems”.

Jaishankar said the framework reflected India’s vision for ensuring responsible, inclusive and legitimate AI systems.

India Calls For Inclusive AI Access, Action Against Misuse

Jaishankar said India remained committed to reducing the global digital divide and ensuring that access to Artificial Intelligence technologies was inclusive.

He referred to the recent AI Impact Summit in India, which was organised around the vision of “AI for All”.

“As a nation that has contributed to bridging the global divide, the global digital divide, we stand equally committed in respect of AI. That is why the recent AI Impact Summit in India was based on a vision of ‘AI for All’,” Jaishankar said.

He added that India was equally committed to addressing the misuse of Artificial Intelligence and the threats emerging technologies could pose to international peace and security.

India is campaigning for election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2028-29 term, with its agenda centred on counterterrorism, secure maritime trade and the responsible governance of emerging technologies.

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