In a notable shift from earlier plans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not address the General Debate at the annual high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) later this month. This update comes as per a revised provisional list of speakers released on Friday.
The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is going to begin on September 9. Its high-level General Debate will be held between September 23 and 29. According to tradition, Brazil will start this debate, and America will be the next. US President Donald Trump will address the General Assembly on September 23. This will be his first speech at the UNGA in his second term.
This time, not the Prime Minister, but Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar will address the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of India. His speech has been scheduled for September 27. Earlier, in the provisional list released in July, it was mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would participate in the General Debate on September 26.
The countries whose heads of state or government will address the gathering on September 26 include Israel, China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. It is worth noting that in February this year, PM Modi visited the US, where he held a bilateral meeting with President Trump at the White House. On the other hand, the Trump administration has imposed a total tariff of 50 percent on India, which also includes a 25 percent duty on Delhi’s purchase of oil from Russia.
However, this list is still provisional and there is a possibility of change before the start of the high-level week. The final list of speakers will be updated from time to time.
This 80th session is taking place at a time when the world is facing many serious crises – prominent among them are the Israel-Hamas war and the Ukraine conflict. The theme of this session is – “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights”.
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