By Arul Louis
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly’s high-level meeting in New York in September, according to the preliminary programme released by the Assembly President Dennis Francis’ office.
The programme, made public on Monday, has Prime Minister Modi’s speech scheduled for the afternoon session on September 26.
Later in the same session, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Prime Minister of Nepal have been pencilled in.
This would be Prime Minister Modi’s fifth address to the Assembly during the week when presidents, kings, prime ministers and other senior leaders converge on the UN headquarters for their annual meeting.
In addition, Prime Minister Modi addressed the high-level meeting remotely during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Last year, he visited the UN in June for the International Day of Yoga, which came about as a result of his initiative launched in his first address in 2014, but did not attend the September high-level meeting.
The participants at the high-level meeting lay down their international policies and comment on developments in speeches that are closely watched, but more important work happens behind the scenes when leaders are able to have dozens of bilateral meetings and participate in various forums.
At his previous participation in the September high-level meetings, dozens of international leaders sought meetings with him.
Prime Minister Modi speaks in Hindi with simultaneous translation into the six official languages of the UN.
The schedule is subject to change and Prime Minister Modi’s speech time is likely to be moved because it is scheduled between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in New York, which would be between 12:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. overnight in India on September 27.