Modi to skip UN General Assembly session

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the 80th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly later this month. Instead, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will head the Indian delegation and deliver India’s address on September 27, Indian media reported.

The UNGA session opens on September 9, with the General Debate scheduled from September 23 to 29. Modi had earlier been listed to speak on September 26, the same day leaders of Israel, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh are scheduled to address the Assembly. The revised plan means Modi will skip this year’s global stage at the UN.

As per tradition, Brazil will open the debate on September 23, followed by the United States. President Donald Trump will address the session on the same day, his first appearance at the UNGA since beginning his second term in office.

Trump’s speech will be watched closely in New Delhi after his recent criticism of India’s oil imports from Russia amid the Ukraine war.

US expects India to apologise, make trade deal on Trump’s terms

Earlier this week, he said the US had “lost India and Russia to China,” before clarifying that he was “very disappointed” with New Delhi’s continued energy purchases from Moscow.

The US has already imposed a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, announced last month in what analysts describe as Washington’s toughest trade action against India in years. Relations further strained after Trump shared a photo of Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, suggesting India was moving closer to Moscow and Beijing. New Delhi has not responded to the remarks.