‘India not having a permanent seat is absurd’, says Elon Musk

San Francisco: Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk insisted on the revision of United Nations bodies and called India, as not a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is ‘absurd’.

The American entrepreneur highlighted the problem in the revision of the UN bodies on Sunday and said that the countries with excess power don’t want to give it up, adding that Africa collectively should have a permanent membership in the United Nations.

Taking to X, Musk said, “At some point, there needs to be a revision of the UN bodies. The problem is that those with excess power don’t want to give it up. India not having a permanent seat on the Security Council, despite being the most populous country on Earth, is absurd. Africa collectively should also have a permanent seat IMO.”

At some point, there needs to be a revision of the UN bodies.

Problem is that those with excess power don’t want to give it up.

India not having a permanent seat on the Security Council, despite being the most populous country on Earth, is absurd.

Africa collectively should…

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2024

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had also made an impassioned plea for the UN to reflect today’s world.

How can we accept that Africa still lacks a single Permanent Member in the Security Council? Institutions must reflect today’s world, not that of 80 years ago. September’s Summit of the Future will be an opportunity to consider global governance reforms & re-build trust” Guterres had said in a post on January 21.

India has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for eight terms (16 years).

The country is a member of the G4, a group of nations that back each other to seek permanent membership of the UNSC. The countries advocate for reform in the UNSC.

Earlier, emphasising growing global support for India’s permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that sometimes things are not given generously and one has to seize it.

“With each passing year, the feeling in the world is that India should be there, and I can feel that support…The world does not give things easily and generously; sometimes you have to take them,” the EAM said on a question regarding a permanent seat for India at the UNSC.

In September 2023, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar expressed concern that the United Nations’ reluctance to reform its structure would render the organization “anachronistic,” prompting people to seek solutions elsewhere. He made an analogy by likening the situation to passengers on a bus, drawing an “injudicious” reference to the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted, “When the UN was established, the world at that time was completely different from today. At that time there were 51 founding members in the UN. Today the number of countries included in the UN is around 200. Despite this, the permanent members of UNSC are still the same.”