Jaishankar to Address UN General Debate on September 26
EAM Jaishankar will address the UN General Debate on Sept 26. The 81st UNGA session opens Sept 8, with leaders meeting Sept 22-28.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) General Debate on the afternoon of September 26, according to the revised provisional list of speakers released on Friday. This will mark his second consecutive address from the UN podium.
The 81st session of the UNGA formally opens on September 8, with the high-level General Debate—often called the busiest diplomatic season at UN headquarters—running from September 22 to 28. Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Khalilur Rahman, will preside over the session, having been elected in June.
Brazil will open the debate on September 22, followed by the United States. US President Donald Trump is expected to address the gathering that day, his second UNGA speech of his current term. Leaders from Bangladesh and Nepal are slated for September 24, with Pakistan following on September 25.
The session unfolds against a backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions, including the prolonged US-Israel conflict with Iran, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and driven up food and fuel costs, disproportionately affecting developing and least-developed nations.
Beyond the debate, the agenda includes high-level meetings on the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, climate action and just transition, sea-level rise, pandemic preparedness, and the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
This will be the final high-level UNGA for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose second term ends in December. The selection process for his successor is underway, with attention on whether a woman will lead the 80-year-old organisation for the first time.