Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address members of the Indian-American community at a major diaspora event next month when he visits the United States for the high-level UN General Assembly. The community event will take place on September 22 at the 16,000-seat Nassau Coliseum in Long Island.
According to a provisional list of speakers from the United Nations, Modi is scheduled to address the high-level session of the UN General Assembly on September 26, according to news agency PTI.
This will be the fifth time Modi will address the Indian community in the US. Preparations are in full swing for the community event in Long Island, ten years after Modi addressed a packed community gathering at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden in September 2014, PTI reported, citing sources. The event at Madison Square Garden was organised months after Modi assumed office as Prime Minister after he visited the city to attend the high-level annual general assembly.
The theme of the event is “Modi and the US: Moving Forward Together”. It aims to celebrate India and the US and the “cultural ethos” of seeing the world as one family and seeing the well-being of all people and the planet as an inspiration to “build a better world together”.
In 2019, Modi delivered a speech at the major community event “Howdy Modi” at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, where he was also accompanied by then-US President Donald Trump.
This year, Modi’s visit to the US comes just weeks before the November 5 presidential election, which will pit Republican candidate Donald Trump against Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in a showdown for the highest office.
The high-level general debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly will take place from September 24 to 30. According to the provisional list of speakers for the general debate released by the UN on Monday, India’s Prime Minister is scheduled to address the high-level session on the afternoon of September 26.
Modi took oath of office as prime minister for a historic third term in June and had last addressed the annual high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021. On June 21 last year, he visited the UN headquarters and led a historic Yoga Day commemoration on the North Lawn of the world body’s headquarters before departing for Washington DC on a state visit hosted by President Joe Biden.
World leaders will gather at the United Nations to adopt the Pact for the Future, which includes as annexes a Global Digital Pact and a Declaration on Future Generations.
Before his visit to the US, Modi is reportedly scheduled to visit Poland on August 21. This will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the Central European country since Morarji Desai’s trip in 1979.
Modi is also scheduled to visit Ukraine on August 23. During the visit, Prime Minister Modi will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
