EAM Jaishankar to hold around 15 bilateral meetings on sidelines of UNGA's 76th session

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar will hold approximately 15 bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 21 (local time) including the ones with Iran, Australia, Egypt and Indonesia. Jaishankar, who is presently visiting the United States, for the high-level segment of the UNGA is scheduled to begin on Tuesday (local time) in New York. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for the US on Wednesday morning to address the UNGA’s 76th session and participate in the first-ever in-person summit of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) leaders.

The theme of this year’s general debate is “Building resilience through hope to recover from COVID19, rebuild sustainably, respond to planet's needs, respect people's rights and revitalise UN.” Leaders from across the globe have started arriving in New York for the UNGA high-level debate week. Notably, this year, the UNGA meeting will be conducted in a hybrid format, with some in-person attendees along with some who will join virtually. However, a large number of leaders are expected to be in the United States. 

Jaishankar kickstarts UNGA meetings

On September 21, EAM Jaishankar started his UNGA meetings with Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide ahead of PM Modi’s UNGA address. He also met with UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and wrote on Twitter that he was “pleased” to meet with the British official. EAM also said that he and Truss talked about the “progress of Roadmap 2030.” Jaishankar and Truss also talked about Afghanistan and the present situation in Indo-Pacific. 

Apart from the UK and Norwegian Foreign Ministers, Jaishankar also met with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein and exchanged views on “historical ties, economic, energy and development cooperation linkages.” He described the meeting with Hussein as “cordial.” Further, official sources have told ANI that Jaishankar will be participating in the G4 foreign ministers meet on September 22 and is also expected to take part at the SAARC meeting on September 26. However, the meeting is not yet confirmed. G4 nations consist of Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan.

With inputs from PTI

IMAGE: PTI