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A senior North Korean diplomat reiterated at the UN Monday that his country won't give up its nuclear weapons despite numerous demands to do so, calling them crucial to keeping a balance of power with South Korea. We will never talk away from this position, he said. Under the spotlight of the General Assembly's annual meeting of world leaders, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong amplified his country's longstanding complaints about US-led military exercises with South Korea and Japan. Complaining that the US and its allies are mounting a growing threat of aggression, he portrayed his own country's arsenal as the reason the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula is ensured. Still, his address was more tempered, especially toward the United States, than many of his country's prior remarks on the world stage and elsewhere. While Kim lambasted without naming names hegemonic forces and an indiscriminate tariff war, there were no personal insults, and there was more sternness than ...
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held a series of high-level bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly session here, engaging with top officials, including UN chief Antonio Guterres and UNGA President Annalena Baerbock. Jaishankar met with UN Secretary-General Guterres on Saturday and discussed a wide range of issues, including geopolitical developments and global hotspots. He also shared India's perspectives on current challenges. "Pleased to meet UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres today in New York. Discussed UN@80, geopolitical trends, current hotspots & India's perspectives," Jaishankar said in a post on X. In a separate meeting with UNGA President Baerbock, Jaishankar conveyed India's full support for her Presidency and reiterated India's commitment to working with the United Nations to make it "more relevant and reflective of our times". Jaishankar also held bilateral discussions with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince ..
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Mexico, Cyprus, and several Pacific Island nations on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, reaffirming India's commitment to strengthening global partnerships. Sharing about the meetings in a series of social media posts, Jaishankar said he met Juan Ramon de la Fuente, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, on Wednesday here, and both sides agreed to build on our recent exchanges and create a fresh roadmap to enhance bilateral ties. He also held talks with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos during which the two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral relations since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the island nation earlier this year. Appreciate his insights on developments in Europe. Reaffirmed support for a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Cyprus Question in accordance with the agreed UN framework and relevant UNSC .
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has called for greater solidarity among Global South nations, a renewed commitment to multilateralism, and a collective push to reform the United Nations and other global institutions. He made the remarks at a High-Level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South countries here on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Sharing details of the meeting in a post on X, Jaishankar said in the face of a proliferation of global concerns and multiplicity of risks, "it is natural that the Global South turns to multilateralism for solutions". Outlining a structured approach for how the Global South can engage with world affairs, the minister made five key proposals to strengthen the collective voice and influence of the developing nations. He emphasised the importance of utilising existing forums to strengthen consultations among the Global South with a view to "enhance solidarity and encourage ...
Watched by the world, President Donald Trump returns to the United Nations on Tuesday to deliver a wide-ranging address on his second-term foreign policy achievements and lament that globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, according to the White House. World leaders will be listening closely to his remarks at the UN General Assembly as Trump has already moved quickly to diminish US support for the world body in his first eight months in office. Even in his first term, he was no fan of the flavour of multilateralism that the United Nations espouses. After his latest inauguration, he issued a first-day executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organisation. That was followed by his move to end US participation in the UN Human Rights Council, and ordering up a review of US membership in hundreds of intergovernmental organisations aimed at determining whether they align with the priorities of his America First agenda. There are great hopes for i
US President Donald Trump will meet Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif here on Tuesday on the margins of the high-level 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Trump will address the General Debate of the UN General Assembly Tuesday morning, his first address to world leaders in his second term as president from the iconic UNGA podium. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the daily press briefing Monday that Trump will deliver a major speech touting the renewal of American strength around the world, his historic accomplishments in just eight months, including the ending of seven global wars and conflicts. Trump has repeatedly said that he ended the conflict between India and Pakistan and is expected to repeat that claim from the UNGA podium when he addresses world leaders tomorrow. Leavitt said the president will also touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward and ...
World leaders begin convening Monday at one of the most volatile moments in the United Nations' 80-year history, and the challenges they face are as dire as ever if not more so: unyielding wars in Gaza and Ukraine, escalating changes in the US approach to the world, hungry people everywhere and technologies that are advancing faster than the understanding of how to manage them. The United Nations itself, which emerged from World War II's rubble on the premise that nations would work together to tackle political, social and financial issues, is in crisis itself. As Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week: "International cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes. Yet the annual high-level gathering at the UN General Assembly will bring presidents, prime ministers and monarchs from about 150 of the 193 UN member nations to UN headquarters. The secretary-general says it is an opportunity that can't be missed even in the most challenging of moments. We
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio here on Monday for bilateral discussions, as the high-level 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) kicks in. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between Rubio and Jaishankar following President Donald Trump's imposition of an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, taking the total levies imposed on India by the Trump White House to 50 per cent. According to the daily schedule issued by the State Department on Sunday, Rubio will meet Jaishankar in New York City on Monday morning. They had last met in July in Washington DC for the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The bilateral meeting comes on the same day India and the US will hold discussions towards achieving an early conclusion of a trade agreement. A delegation led by Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal will meet with the US side on Monday in the city. "The delegation plans to t
India on Friday voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that allows Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address its upcoming high-level session through video after the US denied visas to Palestinian officials, preventing their participation in person. The 193-member General Assembly adopted the resolution titled Participation by the State of Palestine' during its 80th session, with 145 nations voting in favour, five against and six abstentions. The US and Israel opposed the measure, while India was among those supporting it. The resolution expressed regret over the US' decision to deny visas to and revoke visas of Palestinian representatives, which effectively barred them from participating in the UN meetings. It decided that President Abbas can address the General Debate of the 80th UNGA session on September 25 via a pre-recorded statement, which will be played in the General Assembly Hall after introduction by its representative physically present in the venue. The