Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to speak at the high-profile annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in September, according to a preliminary list of speakers issued by the UN.
The 80th session of the UNGA will open on September 9 and the General Debate will take place from September 23 to September 29. In keeping with tradition, Brazil will give the first address and the United States will follow.
US President Donald Trump is scheduled to address on September 23, his first UNGA speech after starting his second term in the White House.
India's "Head of Government (HG)" will address on the morning of September 26, according to the draft speakers' list of the high-level debate. Israel, China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh leaders will also address on the same day.
Earlier this year, PM Modi traveled to the United States in February for a bilateral visit with President Trump to the White House. After a meeting, both the leaders released a joint statement regarding their intent to negotiate a first-phase mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall 2025.
However, even as trade talks continue, President Trump has announced tariffs amounting to 50 percent on India—25 percent of which targets New Delhi’s imports of Russian oil—set to take effect on August 27.
In response, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has strongly criticized the move, calling the targeted tariffs “unjustified and unreasonable.”
“Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” it said.
The last week's declaration of US President Donald Trump's executive order imposing an extra 25 percent tariff on India comes at a time when preparations are underway for the sixth round of negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement. A US team will be in India on August 25 to take up talks.
Both countries are aiming at sealing the first phase of the agreement during fall this year, which will probably take place between October and November.
The UNGA speaker list for the General Debate is still provisional, so plans and attendees are likely to be altered in the weeks to come. Changes will be posted as the event gets closer.
Seen as the "busiest diplomatic season" in the UN Headquarters, the high-level session happens every September. This year's session happens amidst the continuing global crisis, such as the Israel-Hamas war and the Ukraine war.
President Trump has asserted that, just six months into his second term, his administration has facilitated peace agreements in several parts of the world — referencing deals between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.
He has also insisted again and again on credit for preventing the May escalation between India and Pakistan.
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