With more than 50 official engagements scheduled, including bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral talks, EAM Jaishankar traveled here for the high-level U.N. General Assembly meeting.
“#IndiaAtUNGA. Delighted to welcome our External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar who is now here to attend the 77th Session of the @UN General Assembly #UNGA. He will co-host & participate in several bilateral, plurilateral & multilateral meetings during this hectic week,” Ruchira Kamboj, India’s permanent representative to the UN, stated in a tweet on Sunday.
One of India’s main priorities during the high-level U.N. General Assembly session that starts this week will be fair access to COVID19 vaccines, along with counterterrorism, peacekeeping, reformed multilateralism, climate action, and more.
To take part in the high-level 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly, which begins September 20 with the General Debate, Mr. Jaishankar landed in New York on Sunday.
After a busy week of more than 50 formal engagements, including bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral talks in the high-level session and on the sidelines, Mr. Jaishankar will address world leaders from the UNGA platform on September 24.
Numerous bilateral talks with counterparts from Albania, Malta, Egypt, Indonesia, and the 77th UNGA Session’s president, Csaba Korosi, will be part of his first day of activities. He will also serve as the keynote speaker for the trilateral meeting between France, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
The five S’s — Samman (Respect), Samvad (Dialogue), Sahyog (Cooperation), Shanti (Peace), and Samriddhi (Prosperity) — outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will serve as India’s “guiding light” in its approach to the 77th session of the General Assembly, according to a video released by the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations.
India will continue to highlight its pledges and successes in women-led development, notably, women’s leadership and political involvement at the grassroots level, give counterterrorism issues more emphasis, and actively participate in peacekeeping challenges as a large troop contributor.
In the spirit of South-South cooperation, it will also emphasise strengthening relationships with other developing nations through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund and IBSA Fund. It will also emphasise commitment to climate action, equitable and affordable access to vaccines, and reformed multilateralism.
According to the video, “India priorities during the 77th UNGA will also be guided by its core foreign policy objectives, including supporting and enhancing overall domestic socio-economic growth and bolstering security in its immediate neighborhood, as well as leading collective global action, in line with the vision” of Mr. Modi.
After the UNGA session, Mr. Jaishankar will travel to Washington, DC, as part of his 18–28 September visit to the United States. He will have a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres while in New York.
According to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, Jaishankar will host a ministerial meeting of the G4 (India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany) and take part in the High-Level Meeting of the L.69 Group on “Reinvigorating Multilateralism and Achieving Comprehensive Reform of the UN Security Council” in keeping with India’s strong commitment to reformed multilateralism. The L.69 Group, which is focused on UN Security Council changes, is made up of developing nations from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Small Island Developing States.
He would also take part in trilateral formats including India-France-Australia, India-France-UAE, and India-Indonesia-Australia, as well as plurilateral meetings of the Quad, IBSA, BRICS, India – Presidency Pro Tempore CELAC, and India-CARICOM. Along with others, he will meet privately with the foreign ministers of the G20 and UNSC members.
He would speak at a special event called “India@75: Showcasing India UN Partnership in Action” on September 24 to commemorate and promote “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” and to highlight India’s development journey and its contributions to South-South Cooperation. The 77th UNGA President, many member state foreign ministers, and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner are scheduled to speak during the event.
Mr. Jaishankar will hold discussions with his counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken, senior members of the U.S. Administration, US business leaders, and interaction with the Indian Diaspora while he is in Washington DC from September 25 to 28 for bilateral meetings with American counterparts. In order to further solidify the strategic partnership between India and the US, the visit “would enable a high-level assessment of the diverse bilateral agenda and improve collaboration on regional and global challenges.”
In December of this year, when India will be the Council’s President, India’s current two-year term on the U.N. Security Council will come to an end.
