New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the United States this week, where he will be attending high-profile events with US President Joe Biden. According to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday, the Prime Minister will be visiting Washington from September 21-23. During his visit, he will attend the crucial QUAD Leaders' Summit in Delaware on September 21 and thereafter the UN Summit of the Future on September 23.
"Following the request of the US side to host the Quad Summit this year, India has agreed to host the next Quad Summit in 2025," the MEA said in a statement.
PM Modi to skip UNGA meeting
He will address the UN Summit of the Future on September 23, but will not address the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, according to the latest dates released by the United Nations. This came after a revised list published by the UN earlier this month confirmed Modi's absence from the UNGA session.
Earlier in July, a provisional list of speakers for the General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) issued by the UN had mentioned PM Modi’s name among those who would address the high-level debate on September 26, however, according to a revised provisional list of speakers issued on Friday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is now expected to address the General Debate on September 28.
After attending the Quad Summit with US President Joe Biden and counterparts from Australia and Japan in Delaware on September 21, PM Modi will address a mega community event 'Modi and US, Progress Together' on September 22 at the 16,000-seater Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island. Over 25,000 people have applied for tickets to the diaspora event, according to organisers.
What is the Summit of the Future?
The Summit of the Future, according to the UN, aims to bring world leaders to chart the course of the world organisation to "accelerate efforts to meet our existing international commitments and take concrete steps to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities". The leaders are expected to adopt the Pact of the Future, a visionary document that will include a Global Digital Compact that deals with both dangers and opportunities of technology.
PM Modi will be at the diaspora rally when the Summit of the Future begins on Sunday and he is listed as the 35th of the 72 speakers at the September 23 morning session. If all the speakers before him stick to their allotted time -- an unlikely prospect -- his turn would be around noon (9:30 pm in India).
"Effective global cooperation is increasingly critical to our survival but difficult to achieve in an atmosphere of mistrust, using outdated structures that no longer reflect today’s political and economic realities. The Summit of the Future is a chance to get back on track," read a UN statement on the event. "It will consider how we cooperate both to achieve agreed goals and to tackle emerging threats and opportunities."
Who will host the UNGA Summit?
Brazil, which is traditionally the first speaker at the debate, will open the high-level session on September 24, followed by the US which will be represented by President Joe Biden who will deliver his final address of the current term. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will present his report before the start of the General Debate, followed by an address by the president of the 79th session of the General Assembly.
Jaishankar is expected to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders and participate in meetings of various groups. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin would be missing from both meetings. Biden and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will address the UNGA meet but won't attend the Summit of the Future, which will be represented by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
(with agency input)
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