PM Modi arrives in New York ahead of 76th UNGA session
PM Modi flew to New York from Washington today where he is scheduled to address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, slated to be held on September 25. The UNGA was held virtually last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Modi made the journey after holding his first bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House and attended his first in-person Quad summit on his second day of the US visit. The prime minister and his counterparts - Scott Morrison of Australia and Japan’s Yoshihide Suga - attended the meeting of Quad leaders hosted by US President Biden in Washington.
"Landed in New York City. Will be addressing the UNGA at 6:30 PM (IST) on the 25th," the prime minister said in a tweet.
Modi will address the world leaders at the UN General Debate on Saturday morning. He is the first world leader scheduled to address the world organisation. The prime minister was received at the airport by India’s ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and India’s Permanent Representative to the UN ambassador T S Tirumurti.
Modi will address the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Saturday.
The theme for this year’s General Debate is ‘Building Resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations’.
As per the second provisional list of speakers for the General Assembly, about 109 heads of state and government will address the General Debate in person and nearly 60 will deliver speeches through pre-recorded video statements.
Upon holding bilateral talks with PM Modi, US President Joe Biden said that US and India are committed to taking on the toughest challenges both countries face together.
"This morning, I hosted Prime Minister Modi at the White House as we launch a new chapter in the history of U.S.-India ties. Our two nations are the largest democracies in the world, and we're committed to taking on the toughest challenges we face -- together," Biden tweeted.
Modi had last addressed the UN General Assembly session in 2019. Last year, world leaders had 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 coronavirus 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.
