New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session on September 27. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is also scheduled to address the assembly on the same day. According to an updated list of speakers released by the UN, Khan will address the session shortly after PM Modi's speech.
Khan is likely to rake up the Kashmir issue in his address at the UNGA session. However, Modi is more likely to focus on global issue during his speech.
According to reports, the speech may not even have any mention of Kashmir. PM Modi is expected to talk about global issues such as sustainable living, climate crisis and universal health coverage. This would go with India’s standard policy that Kashmir is an internal issue. With this tack, PM Modi will not only snub Pakistan but also pre-empt Islamabad’s plan to internationalise Kashmir issue.
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.
As prime minister, Modi 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.
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.
(With PTI Inputs)
