New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his US visit with the Quad summit, set to begin on September 21. Initially planned to be hosted by India, the chairmanship of the Quad has been swapped between India and the US.
The US will now chair the summit in Delaware, instead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York as was previously thought.
While the prime minister will travel to New York, he will not address the UNGA session, allowing Union foreign minister S. Jaishankar to speak for India at the annual debate, the Times of India reported.
While a provisional list of speakers for the UNGA debate, issued by the UN in July, had said that Modi would address the debate on September 26, a revised list issued by the UN on Friday indicates that Jaishankar will address the general debate on September 28.
The Quad
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida will be attending the Quad summit. This will be the last Quad summit for both Kishida and summit host President Joe Biden as they prepare to demit office.
According to reports, the summit will be held in Biden’s hometown of Wilmington in Delaware on Sept 21.
India had earlier proposed that the much-delayed summit it had to host this year be held on the sidelines of the upcoming UNGA session, the Times of India had reported. Biden, however, is said to be keen on having the summit in Delaware, which he represented the US senate for 36 years before becoming president.
India had also considered having the summit on the margins of the G7 summit in Italy this year, but Australia wasn’t invited for the meeting.
The Indian government initially proposed hosting the summit alongside the Republic Day celebrations in January, with an invitation extended to President Biden as the chief guest. However, the US president declined due to scheduling conflicts.
Modi will also address a community event on September 22 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island in addition to UN’s ‘Summit of the Future’ that is being convened at the UN headquarters on September 22 and 23.
