By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – According to a media report on Thursday Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are provisionally listed to address the UN General Assembly session in New York on September 25.
Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is scheduled to open the general debate on September 22, followed by US President Donald Trump, while Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are not listed to address the gathering as absentee.
Modi is set to speak on September 25 afternoon session 3 pm-to-9 pm, according to a preliminary schedule.
That would be between 12.30 am and 6.30 am in India on September 26. His precise speaking time could change when the programme is finalised.
The schedule puts the two South Asian prime ministers in the same block of speakers during a high-level week that will bring presidents, prime ministers, and other senior leaders to the UN headquarters.
The General Assembly’s high-level week will begin on September 22.
Heads of state, including presidents and monarchs, are given precedence in the speaking order.
Heads of government, including prime ministers, follow them before other senior representatives take the floor.
PM Modi’s September 25 appearance is currently part of the preliminary programme and the exact order can still change before the final schedule is issued, media reported.
Xi is expected to be in Washington during the same week for a summit with President Trump.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 23, with attention also expected on developments around the Strait of Hormuz.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is among the leaders due to address the gathering.
Russia is scheduled to be represented at the podium by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is listed to speak on September 24.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also scheduled to speak on September 24.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously raised the prospect of Netanyahu’s arrest in the city before later acknowledged that he did not have the legal authority to order it.
The high-level week will convene hundred formal and informal meetings among visiting leaders.
The 81st session of the General Assembly will be presided over by Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, who was elected to the post in June.
He has chosen “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A UN that delivers for all” as the theme for the session.
The General Assembly’s annual high-level debate brings together presidents, monarchs, prime ministers, ministers, and other national representatives in New York, while diplomatic engagements continue alongside the formal proceedings.
