EAM Jaishankar to visit New York this week, to chair two high-level events

External affairs minister S Jaishankar will visit New York this week to preside over two high-level events during India’s presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that will focus on reformed multilateralism and counter-terrorism, the ministry said on Monday.

Jaishankar will preside over a high-level ministerial open debate on the theme of ‘New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism [NORMS]’ on December 14, and a high-level briefing on ‘Global approach to counter-terrorism – Challenges and Way Forward’ on December 15.

Both themes have been key priorities for India during its current stint in the UNSC, the external affairs ministry said.

The open debate on reformed multilateralism aims to encourage all UN member states to “seriously address the pressing need for reforms in the global governance multilateral architecture, including the long-standing reforms of the UN Security Council”, the ministry said. The meeting will include briefings by UN secretary-general António Guterres and the president of the UN General Assembly.

India is set to conclude a two-year stint as a non-permanent member of the UNSC at the end of this month. It recently organised a special meeting of the Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee in Mumbai and Delhi in October, and hosted the ‘No Money For Terror’ ministerial meeting in November.

The briefing on counter-terrorism will seek to “promote consensus amongst [UN Security] Council members on the broad principles of a global counter-terror architecture, and aim to further build upon the Delhi Declaration” adopted at the special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in October.

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Jaishankar will also launch ‘Group of Friends for Accountability for Crimes against Peacekeepers’. It was during India’s August 2021 presidency of the UNSC that a resolution was unanimously adopted to ensure accountability for crimes against UN peacekeepers.

Besides India, the ‘Group of Friends’ will include troop-contributing countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco and Nepal as its co-chairs.

During his visit, Jaishankar will also unveil Mahatma Gandhi’s bust at the UN headquarters. The bust, a gift from India to the UN, will be the first Gandhi sculpture to be installed at the world body’s headquarters in New York.

The external affairs minister is also expected to hold discussions with Guterres and the UNGA president, and bilateral engagements with counterparts attending the high-level events.

Jaishankar will also host a special photo exhibition showcasing India’s initiative on the ‘International Year of Millets 2023’ and a millets-based luncheon for the secretary-general and UNSC member states.