Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the United Nations on Friday at the high-level segment of its Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), his first since India was elected as a non-permanent member of the powerful Security Council in June.
The Prime Minister will be joined by his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg during the address. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres will also address the segment.
This will be the first time the Prime Minister will address the broader UN membership after India overwhelmingly won the Security Council election on June 17 for a two-year term.
Before this, PM Modi had delivered the keynote address virtually on ECOSOC’s 70th anniversary in January 2016.
The theme of this year’s high-level segment is ‘Multilateralism after Covid19: What kind of UN do we need at the 75th anniversary’.
The segment, which is held annually, represents the end of ECOSOC’s annual cycle of work and convenes a diverse group of high-level representatives from governments, the private sector, civil society and academia.
“Against the backdrop of a changing international environment and the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic, the session will focus on critical forces shaping the course of multilateralism and explore ways to bolster the multilateral agenda through strong multilateral leadership, effective international institutions, a broadening of participation and an enhanced focus on global public goods,” India’s Permanent Mission to the UN said in a statement.
The UN Charter established ECOSOC in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the wold body. It is mandated to offer direction to and undertake the coordination of the economic, social, and cultural activities of the UN with responsibility for advancing international economic and social cooperation and development.
ECOSOC’s inaugural presidency in 1946 was held by Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar of India.
