High-level segment of 76th UN General Assembly begins in New York; EAM Jaishankar arrives

The high-level segment of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) began in New York. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, said that he was honoured to welcome everyone to the opening of the General Debate. He further added that he was pleased to welcome everyone in an in-person General Assembly session.

UNGA high-level segment begins 

Abdulla Shahid in his tweet said, "I am honoured to welcome you all to the opening of the General Debate as we kick off the High-Level Week of the 76th session of the #UNGA". He added, "I am even more pleased to welcome you back to an in-person session of the General Assembly".

In another tweet, the UNGA President said that they will tackle climate change, vaccinate the world, protect human rights and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In another tweet, he said that he was humbled to be at the great podium on behalf of the people. Shahid expressed gratitude to Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and all the people of his country. 

The theme of this year’s General Debate is 'Building resilience through hope to recover from COVID19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people and revitalise the United Nations.'

Leaders from across the globe have started arriving in New York for the UNGA high-level debate week, according to ANI. Notably, the UNGA meeting this year is conducted in a hybrid format, with some in-person attendees and others who will join virtually. However, a large number of leaders are expected to be in the United States. 

Ahead of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has arrived in New York for UNGA high-level week. Dr Jaishankar would be holding around 15 bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting, according to ANI.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for the US on Wednesday morning to address UNGA’s 76th session and participate in the first-ever in-person summit of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) leaders.

Image: Twitter/@Abdulla_Shahid

Inputs from ANI