Nothing unusual in PM Modi not attending UN general debate, says envoy

India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Asoke Kumar Mukerji, has said here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision not to attend the UN general debate is not unusual, as when there is a special session and also a high-level debate, then a choice has been whether to do both or focus on one and let another leader do the second.

"It happened in the Millennium Summit when Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were done. Now that we are doing, 15 years later, the summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and adopting 'Agenda 2030', it is important for us to focus on the fact that the biggest canvas for implementing Agenda 2030 is India," said Mukerji.

"And, with the initiatives that have been taken by the Government of India in the past year, focusing on development and on specific and on specific sectors of development - especially energy sanitation, and woman empowerment - all of these are parts of the sustainable development goals," he said.

He added, "So, for the PM to participate in the first day in the first session of the summit is very very big signal of how important the summit is for India as well as how important is India for the implementation of the Agenda 2030."

Besides PM Modi, Prime Ministers of Japan and Germany are also addressing the summit and their Foreign Ministers are addressing the high-level debate.