Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the annual high-level UN General Assembly session in person on September 25, according to a provisional list of speakers released by the UN.
The list and schedule are subject to changes and the presence of world leaders in the United Nations’ headquarters for the high-level annual session will significantly depend on the global COVID19 situation, particularly, as the highly transmissible Delta variant rages in the US as well as across other UN member nations.
According to the first provisional list of speakers for the General Debate at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Modi is scheduled to speak at the high-level session on the morning of September 25, the first leader listed for the day.
Last year, world leaders, including Mr. Modi, submitted pre-recorded video statements for the United Nations General Assembly session in September, as heads of state and government could not physically attend the annual gathering due to the pandemic.
It was the first time in the UN's 75-year history that the high-level session had gone virtual. This year too, the option has been kept open for the world leaders to send in pre-recorded statements since the pandemic continues to rage across several nations around the world.
The General Debate begins on September 21 and US President Joe Biden is scheduled to address the session in person, his first address to the world organisation as the American leader.
About 40 leaders are listed to address the high-level session through pre-recorded statements, including Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, South Africa and Nepal.
The 76th session of the UN General Assembly will begin on September 14. Maldives Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid, will be President of the year-long session.
With leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States expected to attend the General Assembly session in person, it is highly likely that the Quad Leaders’ Summit could take place in September around the UNGA.
The US, India, Australia and Japan had in 2017 given shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the "Quad" or the Quadrilateral coalition to counter China's aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific region.
The first Leaders’ Summit was held in March 2021 virtually.
