EAM Jaishankar is in New York for the 78th UN General Assembly Session
India’s G20 Presidency has strengthened the United Nations' agenda on issues like development, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar highlighted during a series of meetings with the UN top leadership in New York over the past few days.
 
EAM Jaishankar is visiting New York from September 22-26 as the leader of the Indian delegation for the High-Level Week at the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). He is also scheduled to address the High-Level Session of the 78th United Nations General Assembly.
 
He met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and discussed the contribution of India's G20 Presidency to strengthening the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. He also expressed appreciation for the UN Secretary General's strong commitment to strengthening global financial institutions. 
 
"Pleasure to meet with UN Secretary General @antonioguterres at UN Headquarters. Discussed how India’s G20 Presidency has contributed to strengthening @UN’s sustainable development agenda. We have coordinated closely in this regard over the last year. Appreciate UNSG’s strong commitment to reforming International Financial Institutions," EAM Jaishankar wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
 
In a separate meeting with UNGA President Dennis Francis, he discussed, among other issues, the importance of reforming multilateralism and giving the Global South its due on crucial issues.
 
"Began the morning by meeting @UN_PGA Dennis Francis at UN Headquarters. Welcomed his appreciation of the outcomes of India’s G20 Presidency. Confident that it would contribute to the UN General Assembly’s discourse and deliberations. Agreed on the importance of reforming multilateralism and giving the Global South its due on crucial issues of our times," he posted on X.
 
Another meeting that reflected India's strong engagement with the United Nations was the one that EAM Jaishankar had with UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner.
 
He wrote on X, "Warm meeting with @ASteiner , UNDP Administrator. Appreciated UNDP’s engagement with India’s G20 Presidency initiatives. Can work together to scale up Indian success stories for global benefit".
 
In keeping with India’s support for the Global South, EAM Jaishankar hosted a special event ‘India-UN for Global South: Delivering for Development’ on the sidelines of the 78th UNGA on September 23, 2023.
 
A tangible outcome of the event, held in the presence of the UNGA President, was the launch of the India-UN Capacity Building Initiative. It reflects India’s continuing efforts to strengthen its development partnership with the Global South.