Explore Business Standard
UNGA Session
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 ...
India will always maintain its freedom of choice and will always be a voice of the Global South, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, asserting that the nation remains determined to protect its people and secure their interests at home and abroad. Addressing world leaders from the iconic podium of the UN General Assembly, Jaishankar highlighted the three key concepts of Atmanirbharta' or self-reliance, Atmaraksha' or securing oneself and 'Atmavishwas' or self-confidence that guide India's approach in the contemporary world. Jaishankar began his address to the General Debate at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly with the salutation Namaskar from the people of Bharat". Underlining that 'Atmanirbharta' means developing our own capabilities, building our own strengths and nurturing our own talent," Jaishankar said that the results of India's progress are already visible across manufacturing, space programmes, pharmaceutical production and digital technology
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 .
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
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the annual high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September, according to a provisional list of speakers issued by the UN here. The 80th session of the UNGA will open on September 9. The high-level General Debate will run from September 23-29, with Brazil as the traditional first speaker of the session, followed by the US. US President Donald Trump will address world leaders from the iconic UNGA podium on September 23, his first address to the UN session in his second term in the White House. According to the provisional list of speakers for the high-level debate of the 80th session of the General Assembly, India's Head of Government (HG) will address the session on the morning of September 26. The Heads of Government of Israel, China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are also scheduled to address the UNGA general debate on the same day. Modi had travelled to the US in February this year for a bilateral meeting
India co-sponsored a UN General Assembly draft resolution that was unanimously adopted to proclaim December 21 as World Meditation Day. India, including Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mexico and Andorra, was a member of the core group of countries that guided the unanimous adoption of the resolution titled World Meditation Day' in the 193-member UN General Assembly on Friday. A day for comprehensive well-being and inner transformation! Glad that India along with other nations of the core group guided the unanimous adoption of the resolution on the declaration of December 21 as World Meditation Day @UN General Assembly today (Friday), India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said in a post on X. He said India's leadership in overall human wellbeing stems from our civilisational dictum of #VasudhaivaKutumbakam - the whole world is one family. Harish noted that December 21 marks the Winter Solstice, which in Indian tradition is the beginning of ...
India reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to improving social determinants of health during the G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force (JFHTF) High-Level Meeting held at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, a Union health ministry statement said on Friday. The session was centred on "prioritising investments in the health sector advancing the development and implementation of debt-for-health swap arrangements and the role of social determinants of health", it said. Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel, who was a lead speaker at the event, highlighted the "Role of Social Determinants of Health in Supporting Health Investments Priorities", and how leveraging debt-for-health swaps can directly address the SDH. She also underscored the crucial intersection of health and finance in mitigating the impact of future health emergencies and alleviating economic burdens, the statement said. During the event, Patel emphasised the significance of addressing core SD
Cameroon's former prime minister took over the presidency of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, issuing a clarion call to the world's divided nations to come together and take action to address global challenges from climate change and poverty to conflicts and armed violence. Philemon Yang told the 193-member world body there are doubts that nations can join forces to tackle these and other pressing issues. But he said: We must demonstrate that international cooperation remains the most effective tool at our disposal for addressing the profound and borderless issues we confront. Yang, a former diplomat who was prime minister of his West African nation from 2009 to 2019, said the cornerstone of his one-year presidency will be built on the principles of unity in diversity. He said peace and security will continue to be of paramount importance during his presidency. This is why, I will urge the assembly to intensify its determination to prioritize the resolution of conflicts, ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not address the annual debate at the United Nations General Assembly session here later this month, according to a revised provisional list of speakers issued by the UN. PM Modi is scheduled to travel to New York later this month and address a mega community event on September 22 at the 16,000-seater Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island. He will also address the UN's landmark 'Summit of the Future' that is being convened 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) issued by the UN in July had said that PM Modi would address the high-level debate on September 26. However, according to a revised provisional list of speakers issued by the UN on Friday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is now expected to address the General Debate on September 28. A note signed by Under Secretary General for General Assembly and ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the high-level UN General Assembly session here on September 26, according to a provisional list of speakers issued by the UN. The high-level General Debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly will take place from September 24-30. As per the provisional list of speakers for the General Debate issued by the UN on Monday, India's Head of Government is scheduled to address the high-level session in the afternoon of September 26. The list is not final and the UN releases updated provisional lists of speakers in the weeks leading up to the high-level session to reflect any modifications in attendance, schedules and speaking slots of leaders, ministers and ambassadors. Brazil, traditionally the first speaker at the debate, will open the high-level session on September 24, followed by the US, with American President Joe Biden delivering his current term's final address to global leaders from the iconic UN podium before his count