Prime Minister Modi will not address the UN General Assembly session, Jaishankar will address on September 28

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not appear at the annual debate at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, according to a revised, provisional UN list of speakers.

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to travel to New York later this month and address a major public event at the 16,000-seat Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island on September 22. He will also speak at the UN Summit of the Future, to be held at the world body’s headquarters on September 22 and 23.

A provisional list of speakers for the general debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), released by the UN in July, said Prime Minister Modi would address the high-level debate on September 26. However, a revised provisional list of speakers released by the UN on Friday now says that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will address the general debate on September 28.

A note attached to the list, signed by Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management Movses Abelian, said the revised list of speakers “has been prepared taking into account changes in the level of representation (upgrades and downgrades) and reflects exchanges among Member States”.

This year, the general debate of the 79th session of the UNGA will take place from 24 to 30 September.

Brazil, traditionally the first speaker at the debate, will open the high-level session on September 24, followed by the United States, with President Joe Biden delivering his final address to world leaders from the symbolic UN podium before his country holds presidential elections in November.

Modi took oath of office for a historic third term as Indian prime minister in June and had last addressed the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021. On June 21 last year, he had visited the UN headquarters and led the historic Yoga Day commemoration on the North Lawn of the world body’s headquarters before departing for a state visit to Washington DC hosted by Biden.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will present his report before the start of the general debate, followed by an address by the President of the 79th session of the General Assembly.

In the run-up to the high-level week, Guterres is convening the ambitious Future Summit at UN headquarters. Action days are planned for 20 and 21 September, and the summit itself is scheduled for 22 and 23 September.

World leaders will gather at the United Nations to adopt the Pact for the Future, which will include as annexes a Global Digital Pact and a Declaration on Future Generations.

“The Summit is a high-level event bringing together world leaders to forge a new international consensus on how to build a better present and secure the future,” the UN statement said.

Over 24,000 members of the Indian diaspora have registered for the community event on Long Island to attend Modi’s address.

The Indian-American Community of USA (IACU) said in a statement that registrations for the “Modi&US Progress Together” event were received from 590 community organizations from across the United States, all of which registered as “Welcome Partners.”

Indian-Americans from at least 42 states are expected to participate, but the response from the tri-state region has been particularly strong, it said.

Sources had told PTI that preparations were in full swing for the public event, which comes 10 years after Modi addressed a massive town hall meeting at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden in September 2014, a few months after he was first sworn in as prime minister.

In 2019, Modi delivered a speech at the major community event “Howdy Modi” at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, where he also met former President Donald Trump.

This year, Modi’s visit to the US comes just weeks before the November presidential election, which will pit Republican candidate Trump against Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris is the first woman of black and Indian descent to become U.S. vice president and presidential candidate of a major political party.