PM Modi to Address UNGA

Foreign Affairs

United Nations. It will be a packed week for Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he arrives here to address the 74th session of the annual high-level United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 27.

According to an updated list of speakers for the General Debate of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), PM Modi will address the high-level session on the morning of September 27.

Prime Minister had given his maiden address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly in 2014. His visit in September and address to world leaders at the UN will be the first after winning a second term as Prime Minister in a resounding electoral victory in May this year.

According to the list of speakers, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is also scheduled to address global leaders on the same day shortly after Modi’s address.

The initial speakers’ list indicates that about 112 Heads of State, nearly 48 Heads of Government and over 30 Foreign Ministers will arrive in New York to address the General Debate. The General Debate will commence on September 24 and run through September 30.

US President Donald Trump, who had delivered his first address to global leaders from the General Assembly hall’s iconic green podium in 2017, will address the high-level session on the morning of September 24.

The US is traditionally the second speaker on the opening day of the General Debate, after Brazil. Modi has a packed agenda of bilateral and multilateral engagements in the UN and New York during his nearly week-long visit to the city. He will be honoured by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Indian leader will be presented with the 2019 ‘Global Goalkeeper Award’, which according to the Foundation is a “special recognition” that celebrates a political leader who has “demonstrated their commitment to the Global Goals through impactful work in their country or globally.”