UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrives in Delhi, to meet PM Modi

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday arrived in Delhi on his maiden three-day visit to India. Upon his arrival, the UN chief inaugurated the UN House in the national capital, sources said.

Guterres’s visit to India coincides with the commencement of events marking the 150^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

During his visit, the UN chief will meet top leadership of the country, including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders are likely to discuss key global issues such as climate change and global terrorism, said the sources.

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“India is an important partner of the United Nations in countering terrorism,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, adding that there were plans to step up the cooperation between the two in combating terror financing.

The UN Secretary General will also attend the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention on October 2. Later, Guterres will also deliver a lecture at the India Habitat Centre on the theme ‘Global challenges, global solutions’.

Days before his arrival in India, the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL)- an amalgam of separatists in Kashmir, had written a letter to the UN chief and sought his intervention in the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

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“As you embark on your trip to India, we in the State of Jammu & Kashmir take this opportunity to draw your attention towards the urgency of the need to resolve the dispute over it, which, as you know, Sir, remains on the Agenda of the United Nations. We draw your attention to three aspects of it,” JRL wrote to Guterres.

On October 3, Guterres will attend the ‘Champions of Earth’ ceremony in Delhi and meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Guterres had visited India in July 2016, just months ahead of the election for Secretary General. 

(With PTI inputs)