Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be addressing the annual debate at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session this month, a significant change from the initial schedule. This news comes from a revised provisional list of speakers released by the UN, which indicates that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will now represent India at the General Debate on September 28th.
While Modi will be traveling to New York later this month, his focus will be on two other key events. First, he is scheduled to address a large-scale community gathering on September 22nd at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island. This event, expected to draw over 24,000 members of the Indian diaspora, comes ten years after Modi’s highly publicized address at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Second, Modi will participate in the UN’s landmark ‘Summit of the Future’, scheduled for September 22nd and 23rd at the UN headquarters. This summit aims to bring world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how to address global challenges and secure a sustainable future. The summit will see the adoption of the ‘Pact for the Future’, which includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations.
This change in plans for Prime Minister Modi comes as India prepares for the upcoming presidential elections in November, making this a significant period for US-India relations. Modi’s visit to the United States is expected to be a busy one, with engagements on both the diplomatic and community fronts.
The original provisional list of speakers for the General Debate, released in July, had included Prime Minister Modi, who was scheduled to speak on September 26th. However, the UN’s revised list reflects changes in representation levels and discussions among member states. The General Debate of the 79th UNGA session will run from September 24th to 30th. Brazil will open the high-level session on September 24th, followed by the United States, with President Joe Biden delivering his final address to global leaders from the UN podium before the US heads to its presidential elections in November.
