India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti, said on Friday (local time) that the highlight of this year’s “historic” session of the UN General Assembly will be the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. in two debates in the high-level segments starting in September. twenty-one.
“This time around, the UN General Assembly will be historic and in more ways than one. As far as India is concerned, the highlight will be Prime Minister Modi’s participation in two debates in the high-level segments starting on Monday, ”Tirumuti told ANI in an exclusive interview.
He said the first event is a general debate where the Prime Minister will represent India at the UN and deliver the national declaration, while the other is the high-level plenary meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the UN. “His speech will undoubtedly be the highlight of our participation in the UNGA,” commented Tirumurti.
The diplomat reported that a virtual biodiversity summit will be organized on September 30 with the theme “Urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development.” “This will be the first biodiversity summit at the UN. Our Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar, will participate in this summit, ”he said.
Tirumurti emphasized that India is one of the 10 mega-biodiverse countries in the world and the country has taken a leading role in the field of biodiversity.
“India recently held the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in February this year. We also hosted the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in September last year in Delhi, which saw the adoption of the ambitious Delhi Declaration, ”he said.
He also reported that an important event will be held on October 1 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, which is “widely recognized as the most comprehensive plan to promote rights of women and girls “.
The event will be attended by the Minister of Development for Women and Children, Smriti Irani, underscoring India’s strong commitment to women’s empowerment and gender sensitivity.
In addition, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will participate in some of the ministerial meetings to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Tirumurti said.
“On October 2, the UN will celebrate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will deliver India’s comments at this event, ”he further reported.
Tirumurti said that the theme of the current session of the UN General Assembly is “The future we want, the UN we need”, “reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism, confronting Covid-19 through effective multilateral actions” .
He also said that the session of the UN General Assembly will be different this year from all previous seasons, as the world is still in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We hope that the member states take Covid-19 as an opportunity to opt for reforms and changes to have the future we want.”
The diplomat said that in view of the Covid-19 travel restrictions, most of the leaders will not travel to New York and the high-level debate will take place virtually.
“World leaders will present their national statements through pre-recorded videos. The General Assembly hall will not be empty. One representative per delegation will be allowed in the General Assembly room. If they wish, they can present the video of their respective heads of state or government, ”Tirumurti said.
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