PM Modi is scheduled to visit the Eastern coast of USA in the third week of September where he will be involved in a host of bilateral and multilateral engagements. His address to the annual high-level United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session on September 27 in New York is the highlight of the trip.

General Debate at UNGA

According to an updated list of speakers for the General Debate of the 74th session of the UNGA, PM Modi will address the high-level session on the morning of September 27. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan is also scheduled to address the same session shortly after Modi. The General Debate will commence on September 24 and run through September 30. Brazil is traditionally the first speaker on the opening day of the General Debate.

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Modi's visit in September and address to world leaders at the UN will be the first since he secured a second term as Prime Minister in a landslide majority. His maiden address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly was in 2014. 

According to sources, the initial speakers' list indicates that about 112 Heads of State, nearly 48 Heads of Government and over 30 Foreign Ministers will arrive in New York to address the General Debate.

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PM Modi at United Nations

Along the margins of the 74th session of UN General Assembly, several other high-level summits will be reportedly held in USA, which PM Modi will be attending. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host the 2019 Climate Action Summit on September 23, in an effort to boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. PM Modi is expected to address this summit. The UN will also reportedly host the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit 2019 on September 24 and 25. Heads of States and Governments will gather at the United Nations Headquarters to follow up and comprehensively review progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, as well as its 17 SDGs. 

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Engagements in New York

PM Modi will be honoured by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which will present him the 2019 Global Goalkeeper Award for his leadership of the Swachch Bharat Mission. According to the foundation, it is a "special recognition" that celebrates a political leader who has demonstrated their commitment to the Global Goals through impactful work in their country and/or globally. 

According to sources, PM Modi also plans to host a special event, 'Leadership Matters: Relevance of Gandhi in the Contemporary World' on September 24 in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber in the UN Headquarters. PM Modi will also inaugurate the 'Gandhi Peace Garden', in New York as an innovative initiative to commemorate Gandhi's 150 birth anniversary this year. 150 trees will reportedly be planted in the garden to represent the different states in the US, in the form of a crowdsourced project.

On September 25, PM Modi is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum. Sources have said that after PM Modi's keynote address, there will be a Q&A session with the Indian leader. 

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Other Engagements in USA

Before arriving in New York for the UNGA session, PM Modi is expected to visit Houston where he will address the Indian-American community on September 22. "Howdy, Modi!", the Indian-American community summit, will be hosted by the Texas India Forum. The event is expected to be attended by tens of thousands of people, including influential US lawmakers and political leaders. 

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(With inputs from PTI)