EAM Jaishankar to lead Indian delegation at UN General Assembly

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will address the general debate on September 24, followed by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif the next day

External affairs minister S Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation attending the United Nations General Assembly this week, the external affairs ministry said on Sunday.

Jaishankar’s address at the high level session of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York is scheduled for September 26, the ministry said. During the visit, Jaishankar will also attend different plurilateral and bilateral meetings.

The general debate during September 22-28 is the annual meeting of heads of state and government at the beginning of the General Assembly session, featuring world leaders making statements outlining their country’s position. Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman will preside over the General Assembly session, the theme for which is “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A UN that delivers for all”.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipped the UN General Assembly last year too, and the Indian delegation was led by Jaishankar.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will address the general debate on September 24, followed by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif the next day.

This year’s General Assembly session aims at revitalising global cooperation, giving a critical push to the Sustainable Development Goals, and driving collective action for peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet.

Meetings scheduled during the General Assembly session include a high-level gathering to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, a meeting on climate action and just transition, and a high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

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There will also be a high-level meeting to address existential threats posed by sea level rise, and a plenary meeting to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

This will be the last General Assembly session for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose second five-year tenure ends in December.

Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More