PM Modi to address the 76th UNGA session on September 25 in New York

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Tuesday. According to the MEA, PM Modi will address the General Debate of the High-Level Segment of the UNGA Assembly on September 25. 

Ahead of the UNGA meeting, PM Modi is also expected to participate in the Leaders’ Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework in Washington on September 24. Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden will be a part of the session. The four leaders are expected to discuss their ties, combatting COVID-19, addressing the climate crisis and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.

PM Modi's last visit to the US was in 2019 ahead of the US Presidential Elections. He had attended the mammoth 'Howdy Modi' event alongside former President Donald Trump in Houston. The QUAD and UNGA visit will be PM Modi's first in-person meeting with Biden. The two leaders have met virtually in several multilateral meetings such as G7.

Details of 76th UNGA Session 

The 76th UNGA session is expected to be in a hybrid format. Volkan Bozkir, President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), has announced that 83 heads of state are anticipated to attend the session. Apart from a direct address, another 26 leaders have applied for a recorded video message. Those who will participate in person include one vice president, 43 heads of government, three deputy prime ministers and 23 foreign ministers, Bozkir said. 

Given the COVID-19 pandemic,  a limited number of people will be allowed to come into the building. Since the accompanying delegations are larger than the expectation, there will be only 1+6 altogether (for each delegation), said the UNGA president. 

Last year, the Assembly convened discussions on contemporary concerns such as the Gaza conflict, Myanmar's human rights situation, and Syria's humanitarian situation. According to sources, the Taliban takeover and the Afghanistan crisis will be the key topic of the UNGA session this year.  The 76th UNGA is beginning on 14 September and the high-level week will take place from 21 to 27 September. 

(With Agency Inputs)