Modi expected to address annual UNGA session in person on Sept 25

United Nations, August 14

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the annual high-level UN General Assembly session in person on September 25, according to a provisional list of speakers released by the UN.

The list and schedule are subject to changes and the presence of world leaders in the United Nations headquarters here for the high-level annual session will significantly depend on the global Covid situation, particularly as the highly transmissible Delta variant rages in the US as well as across other UN member nations.

According to the first provisional list of speakers for the General Debate at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, Modi is scheduled to speak at the high-level session on the morning of September 25, the first leader listed for the day.

In 2019, Modi travelled to New York for the high-level UN General Assembly session. 

Last year, world leaders, including Modi, submitted pre-recorded video statements for the United Nations General Assembly session in September, as heads of state and government could not physically attend the annual gathering due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was the first time in the UN's 75-year history that the high-level session had gone virtual. This year too, the option has been kept open for the world leaders to send in pre-recorded statements since the pandemic continues to rage across several nations around the world.

The General Debate begins on September 21 and US President Joe Biden is scheduled to address the session in person, his first address to the world organisation as the American leader.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Australian leader Scott Morrison are also listed to address the General Debate in person on September 24.

With leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States expected to attend the General Assembly session in person, it is highly likely that the Quad Leaders' Summit could take place in September around the UNGA.

The US, India, Australia and Japan had in 2017 given shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the "Quad" or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China's aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific region. PTI

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