External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on UNGA79 sidelines, in New York on September 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: ANI

With the United Nations (UN) approaching its 80th anniversary next year, the Group of Four (G4) countries — India, Brazil, Germany and Japan — seeking permanent membership and reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC) called for urgent reform of the world body

The countries’ meeting. held on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the Foreign Minister level on September 23, reviewed progress made on these reforms.

In the joint statement released on September 26, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his counterparts noted the “significant challenges” to the multilateral system, centred around the UN, as they welcomed the urgent call for reform at the UN’s ‘Summit of the Future’, held earlier this week.

The G4 Ministers reiterated the need for an increase in both permanent and non-permanent categories of UNSC membership, to enhance the participation of developing countries, as well as “ those significantly contributing to international peace and security” at the UNSC .

The group highlighted the need for better representation for regions such as Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean in permanent and non-permanent categories.

They also reaffirmed their strong support to the Common African Position (CAP) based on Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.

The Ministers “voiced strong concern” over progress in the intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) and said text-based negotiations needed to start urgently.

U.S. President Joe Biden looks at his notes as he addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., on September 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

In his fourth and final address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as U.S. President, Joe Biden said the world was at an inflection point . He asked the warring parties in West Asia to accept the peace deal and urged continued support for Ukraine.

Mr Biden used his speech to outline some of his decisions in office and to warn of future challenges, even as he expressed optimism about facing them. Addressing the 79th session of the Assembly, Mr Biden also used his speech to explain his decision not to run for a second term.

“I truly believe we’re at another inflection point in world history,” he said, adding, “The choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come.”

Mr Biden spoke of having seen a “remarkable sweep of history”, as he joked about his age. He walked through the major events of his political career, including the Cold War, the U.S.’s Vietnam War and apartheid in South Africa.

“Things can get better. We should never forget that. I’ve seen that throughout my career,” he said, warning there was a lot to be done.

Mr Biden called for continued support to Ukraine against Russia’s aggression.

He called on Israel and Hamas to finalise the terms of a peace deal and to address the condition of innocent Palestinians in the West Bank facing violence.

“Now is the time for the parties to finalise its terms, bring the hostages home and secure security for Israel, a Gaza free of Hamas’s grip, ease the suffering in Gaza, end this war, “ he said.

Mr Biden also urged Sudanese generals to stop fighting and blocking aid to the Sudanese people.

He called on countries to assist African nations fight Mpox and for regulating the safe use of Artificial Intelligence, including , to prevent its misuse by authoritarians.

Mr Biden also pushed for reform at the United Nations.

“The UN needs to adapt and bring new voices and new perspectives. That’s why we support reforming and expanding the membership to the UN Security Council,” he said.

While describing his term in office, Mr Biden defended his administration’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, acknowledging the loss of life the withdrawal had caused.

He said that under his presidency the U.S. had strengthen traditional alliances and built new ones, such as the Quad.

Indo Pacific Partnerships:  Building blocks for security and peace

Mr Biden said the U.S. wanted to manage competition with China so it does not become conflict and that he appreciated China’s cooperation on combatting the flow of synthetic drugs. He said the U.S. would push back against unfair economic competition and military coercion in the South China sea. 

The U.S. would also maintain “peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, protecting our most advanced technologies so they cannot be used against us  or any of our partners”, Mr Biden said.

He said the U.S. was going to build alliances and partnerships across the Indo Pacific, but they were not against any country but “building blocks” of a secure and peaceful Indo-Pacific.

Biden explains decision to retire

Mr Biden  said he had made the preservation of democracy a central cause of his presidency , presumably a reference, at least in part , to domestic politics and former President Donald Trump.

“There’s so much more I wanted to get done,” he said, adding , “As much as I love the job, I love my country more.”

The President also explained to other heads of government, his decision to not seek a second term in office, saying it was time to turn over its leadership to a new generation of leaders.

“My fellow leaders, let us never forget some things are more important than staying in power,” he said.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned world leaders Tuesday (September 24, 2024) that impunity, inequality and uncertainty are creating an “unsustainable world” where a growing number of countries believe they should have a “get out of jail free” card.

“We can’t go on like this,” he said as the General Assembly’s annual debate among presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other leaders began.

Also read | Reform global institutions for peace and development, Modi tells U.N.

Citing deepening geopolitical divisions, wars with no end in sight, climate change and nuclear and emerging weapons, he said humanity is “edging towards the unimaginable – a powder keg that risks engulfing the world.”

But, he said, “the challenges we face are solvable” if the international community confronts the uncertainty of unmanaged risks, the inequality that underlies injustices and grievances and the impunity that undermines international law and the U.N.‘s founding principles.

“Today, a growing number of governments and others feel entitled to a “get out of jail free’ card,” he said in a reference to the classic board game Monopoly.

The world leaders’ meeting opened under the shadow of increasing global divisions, major wars in Gaza, Ukraine and, Sudan and the threat of an even larger conflict in the wider Middle East.

Mr. Guterres previewed his opening speech at Sunday’s “Summit of the Future,” where he pointed to conflicts from the Middle East to Ukraine and Sudan and to the global security system, which he said is “threatened by geopolitical divides, nuclear posturing, and the development of new weapons and theaters of war.”

He also cited huge inequalities, the lack of an effective global system to respond to emerging and even existential threats, and the devastating impact of climate change.

One notable moment at Tuesday’s opening assembly meeting: U.S. President Joe Biden’s likely final major appearance on the world stage, a platform upon which he has treaded for decades.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters last week that the U.S. focus in the assembly will be on ending “the scourge of war,” lamenting that roughly two billion people live in conflict-affected areas. “The most vulnerable around the world are counting on us to make progress, to make change, to bring about a sense of hope for them,” she said.

Among other speakers on opening day are Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Iranian leader accused Israel on Monday of seeking a wider war in the Middle East and laying “traps” to lead his country into a broader conflict. He pointed to the deadly explosions of pagers, walkie-talkies and other electronic devices in Lebanon last week, which he blamed on Israel, and the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, hours after Pezeshkian’s inauguration.

“We don’t want to fight,” the Iranian president said. “It’s Israel that wants to drag everyone into war and destabilize the region. … They are dragging us to a point where we do not wish to go.” Iran supports both Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants.

International Rescue Committee President David Miliband recalled that at the San Francisco conference in 1945 where the U.N. was established, then-U.S. President Harry Truman pleaded with delegates to reject the premise that “might makes right” and reverse it to “right makes might,” which was enshrined in the U.N. Charter.

“Almost 80 years later, we have seen the terrible consequences of the failure to flip this equation,” Miliband said. “In contexts like Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, might is making right.”

Facing mounting global humanitarian needs, unchecked conflict, unmitigated climate change and growing extreme poverty, Miliband challenged world leaders asking: “How will you strengthen, not weaken, the principles of the U.N. Charter for the next 80 years?”

The assembly’s annual meeting, which ends on September 30, followed the two-day Summit of the Future, which adopted a blueprint aimed at bringing the world’s increasing divided nations together to tackle the challenges of the 21st century from conflicts and climate change to artificial intelligence and women’s rights.

The 42-page “Pact for the Future” challenges leaders of the 193 U.N. member nations to turn promises into real actions that make a difference to the lives of the world’s more than 8 billion people.

“We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink,” Guterres said.

By adopting the pact, leaders unlocked the door, he said. “Now it is our common destiny to walk through it. That demands not just agreement, but action.”

At last year’s U.N. global gathering, Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, took center stage. But as the first anniversary of Hamas’ deadly attack in southern Israel approaches on Oct. 7, the spotlight is certain to be on the war in Gaza and escalating violence across the Israeli-Lebanon border, which is now threatening to spread to the wider Middle East.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to speak Thursday morning and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday afternoon.

Zelenskyy will get the spotlight twice. He will speak Tuesday afternoon at a high-level meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by the United States, France, Japan, Malta, South Korea and Britain, whose foreign ministers are expected to attend. He will also address the General Assembly on Wednesday morning.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his counterparts from the G4 countries.
| Photo Credit: X/@DrSJaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has met his counterparts from the G4 countries, reaffirming the grouping’s commitment to urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council through text-based negotiations.

The G4 nations comprise Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan.

Mr. Jaishankar, who is in the U.S. on an official visit, on Monday (September 23, 2024) met his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa, the Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“Glad to join the traditional #G4 Foreign Ministers Meeting along with colleagues @ABaerbock, @Kamikawa_Yoko and Mauro Vieira in New York today. G4 reaffirmed its commitment for an urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council through Text Based Negotiations,” Mr. Jaishankar said in a post on X.

The G4 nations support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.

India has been at the forefront of years-long efforts calling for reform of the Security Council, saying the 15-nation Council, founded in 1945, is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geopolitical realities. A polarised Security Council has also failed to deal with current peace and security challenges, with Council members sharply divided on conflicts such as the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Mr. Jaishankar also held talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil on Monday about energy and economic cooperation, among other things.

“Pleased to meet FM @yvangil of Venezuela today on the sidelines of #UNGA79. Discussed energy, health and economic cooperation, as also reformed multilateralism,” Mr. Jaishankar said in a post on X.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his counterparts from the G4 countries.
| Photo Credit: X/@DrSJaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has met his counterparts from the G4 countries, reaffirming the grouping’s commitment to urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council through text-based negotiations.

The G4 nations comprise Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan.

Mr. Jaishankar, who is in the U.S. on an official visit, on Monday (September 23, 2024) met his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa, the Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“Glad to join the traditional #G4 Foreign Ministers Meeting along with colleagues @ABaerbock, @Kamikawa_Yoko and Mauro Vieira in New York today. G4 reaffirmed its commitment for an urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council through Text Based Negotiations,” Mr. Jaishankar said in a post on X.

The G4 nations support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.

India has been at the forefront of years-long efforts calling for reform of the Security Council, saying the 15-nation Council, founded in 1945, is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geopolitical realities. A polarised Security Council has also failed to deal with current peace and security challenges, with Council members sharply divided on conflicts such as the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Mr. Jaishankar also held talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil on Monday about energy and economic cooperation, among other things.

“Pleased to meet FM @yvangil of Venezuela today on the sidelines of #UNGA79. Discussed energy, health and economic cooperation, as also reformed multilateralism,” Mr. Jaishankar said in a post on X.

“Thousands of journalists have fled their home countries in recent years to escape political repression, save their lives and escape conflict – but in exile they are often vulnerable to physical, digital and legal threats,” a U.N. investigator said on May 22.

Irene Khan said in a report to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that the number of journalists in exile has increased as the space for independent and critical media has been “shrinking in democratic countries where authoritarian trends are gaining ground.”

Today, she said, free, independent and diverse media supporting democracy and holding the powerful to account are either absent or severely constrained in over a third of the world’s nations, where more than two-thirds of the global population lives.

The U.N. independent investigator on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression said most journalists and some independent media outlets have left their countries so they can report and investigate freely “without fear or favour.”

But Ms. Khan, a Bangladeshi lawyer who previously served as secretary general of Amnesty International, said exiled journalists often find themselves in precarious positions, facing threats against them and their families from their home countries without assured legal status or adequate support to continue working in their country of refuge.

Myanmar journalist gets a 20-year sentence for reporting on cyclone’s aftermath, news site says

“Fearing for their own safety or that of their families back home and struggling to survive financially and overcome the many challenges of living in a foreign country, many journalists eventually abandon their profession,” she said. “Exile thus becomes yet another way to silence critical voices – another form of press censorship.”

Ms. Khan, whose mandate comes from the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, said there are international legal protections for journalists in exile who range from full-time professional reporters to bloggers publishing on the internet and elsewhere. “The problem is “the failure of states to respect their obligations under international law,” she said.

In recent years, Ms. said, hundreds of journalists have fled from Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Ethiopia, Iran, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Russia, Sudan, Somalia, Turkey and Ukraine. In addition, smaller numbers have fled from a range of other countries including Burundi, Guatemala, India, Pakistan and Tajikistan, “to name just a few,” she said.

Ms. Khan said there is no data on human rights violations committed by countries outside their borders. “But there is anecdotal evidence including victims’ testimony, scholarly research and the experience of civil society organisations suggesting that “a high prevalence” of such “transnational repression” targets exiled journalists and media outlets,” she said.

Ms. Khan said “the butchering of exiled Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul was an outrageous, audacious act of transnational repression.” Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who entered the consulate on October 2, 2018, to get documents for his impending marriage, never emerged and his remains have never been found.

Ms. Khan also pointed to Turkey’s extraterritorial abductions and forcible return of at least 100 Turkish nationals, including journalists, from many countries, and Iran’s targeting of exiled Iranian journalists and media outlets as well as Iranian and Iranian-origin journalists and media staffers working for the BBC Persian-language service.

In February 2020, she said, prominent Iranian exiled journalist Rana Rahimpour received death threats against herself, her husband, her children and her elderly parents.

Ms. Khan said the world witnessed a blatant example of forced abduction when Belarus authorities used a false bomb threat in violation of international law to divert a commercial airliner as exiled media worker Raman Pratasevich was travelling to the country’s main airport in May 2021. He was arrested, convicted, sentenced to eight years in prison and later pardoned.

As for digital transnational repression, the U.N. special rapporteur said attempts to intimidate and silence journalists and their sources and promote self-censorship online have increased over the past decade.

Ms. Khan said common practices include “recruiting armies of trolls and bots to amplify vicious personal attacks on individual journalists to discredit them and their reporting, blocking exiled news sites or jamming broadcasts, and targeted digital surveillance.” “Online attacks including death threats, rape threats and smear campaigns have skyrocketed in the past 10 years,” she said.

“Digital surveillance also surged over the past decade as spyware enables authorities to access journalists’ phones and other devices without their knowledge,” Ms. Khan said. In early 2022, journalists from El Salvador fled to Costa Rica, Mexico and elsewhere after civil society investigations reported the use of Pegasus spyware on their devices.

She said exiled journalists often face two major legal threats from their home countries: “investigation, prosecution and punishment in absentia, and the pursuit of their extradition on trumped up criminal charges.”

Hong Kong’s recently adopted National Security Law, augmented by the Safeguarding National Security Ordnance, “criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism and ‘collusion with foreign organizations’ in sweeping terms and with extraterritorial reach,” she said. It has been used extensively against independent journalists in Hong Kong and has hampered the work of journalists in exile and forced many to self-censor.

After Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Ms. Khan said, it adopted draconian laws punishing anyone discrediting the armed forces or disseminating false information about the military operation. This has led independent media to self-censor, shut down or leave the country. “Russian courts have issued sentences in absentia against several exiled journalists,” she said.

Ms. Khan called for countries hosting exiled journalists to provide them with visas and work permits.

“Exiled journalists also need better protection from physical and online attacks, long-term support from civil society and press freedom groups, and “they need companies to ensure that the technologies that are essential to practice journalism are not disrupted or weaponized against them,” she said.

In the Security Council vote on April 18, the Palestinians got much more support for full U.N. membership. The vote was 12 in favor, the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining. 
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) is expected to vote on May 10 on a resolution that would grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and call on the Security Council to favourably reconsider its request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

The United States vetoed a widely backed council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent, and U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood made clear on Thursday that Joe Biden administration is opposed to the Assembly resolution.

Under the U.N. Charter, prospective members of the United Nations must be “peace-loving,” and the Security Council must recommend their admission to the General Assembly for final approval. Palestine became a U.N. non-member observer state in 2012.

“We’ve been very clear from the beginning there is a process for obtaining full membership in the United Nations, and this effort by some of the Arab countries and the Palestinians is to try to go around that,” Mr. Wood said on Thursday. “We have said from the beginning the best way to ensure Palestinian full membership in the U.N. is to do that through negotiations with Israel. That remains our position.”

But unlike the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the 193-member General Assembly and the resolution is expected to be approved by a large majority, according to three Western diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations were private.

The draft resolution “determines” that a state of Palestine is qualified for membership – dropping the original language that in the General Assembly’s judgment it is “a peace-loving state.” It therefore recommends that the Security Council reconsider its request “favourably.”

The renewed push for full Palestinian membership in the U.N. comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage. At numerous council and assembly meetings, the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinians in Gaza and the killing of more than 34,000 people in the territory, according to Gaza health officials, have generated outrage from many countries.

“The original draft of the assembly resolution was changed significantly to address concerns not only by the U.S. but also by Russia and China,” the diplomats said.

The first draft would have conferred on Palestine “the rights and privileges necessary to ensure its full and effective participation” in the assembly’s sessions and U.N. conferences “on equal footing with member states.” It also made no reference to whether Palestine could vote in the General Assembly.

According to the diplomats, Russia and China which are strong supporters of Palestine’s U.N. membership were concerned that granting the list of rights and privileges detailed in an annex to the resolution could set a precedent for other would-be U.N. members — with Russia concerned about Kosovo and China about Taiwan.

Under longstanding legislation by the U.S. Congress, the United States is required to cut off funding to U.N. agencies that give full membership to a Palestinian state – which could mean a cutoff in dues and voluntary contributions to the U.N. from its largest contributor.

The final draft drops the language that would put Palestine “on equal footing with member states.” And to address Chinese and Russian concerns, it would decide “on an exceptional basis and without setting a precedent” to adopt the rights and privileges in the annex.

The draft also adds a provision in the annex on the issue of voting, stating categorically: “The state of Palestine, in its capacity as an observer state, does not have the right to vote in the General Assembly or to put forward its candidature to United Nations organs.”

The final list of rights and privileges in the draft annex includes giving Palestine the right to speak on all issues not just those related to the Palestinians and Middle East, the right to propose agenda items and reply in debates and the right to be elected as officers in the assembly’s main committees. It would give the Palestinians the right to participate in U.N. and international conferences convened by the United Nations — but it drops their “right to vote” which was in the original draft.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas first delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application for U.N. membership in 2011. It failed because the Palestinians didn’t get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.

They went to the General Assembly and succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join U.N. and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.

In the Security Council vote on April 18, the Palestinians got much more support for full U.N. membership. The vote was 12 in favor, the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining, and the United States voting no and vetoing the resolution.

Protesters are arrested and led away by law enforcement at Grand Central Terminal during a rally calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 27, 2023, in New York.
| Photo Credit: AP

Hundreds of protesters filled the main concourse of New York city’s famed Grand Central Terminal during the evening rush hour on October 27, chanting slogans and unfurling banners demanding a cease-fire as Israel intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Wearing black T-shirts and saying “Jews say cease-fire now” and “Not in our name,” at least 200 of the demonstrators were detained by New York Police Department (NYPD) officers and led out of the train station, their hands zip-tied behind their backs. The NYPD said the protesters were taken briefly into custody, issued summons and released, and that a more exact number of detentions would be available on October 28.

Some protesters hoisted banners as they scaled the stone ledges in front of leader boards listing departure times. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority asked commuters to use Penn Station as an alternative. After the sit-in was broken up by police, the remaining protesters spilled into the streets outside.

“Hundreds of Jews and friends are taking over Grand Central Station in a historic sit-in calling for a ceasefire,” advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace said on social media.

The scene echoed last week’s sit-in on Capitol Hill in Washington, where Jewish advocacy groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now, poured into a congressional office building. More than 300 people were arrested for illegally demonstrating.

Israel stepped up airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday, knocking out internet and largely cutting off communication with the 2.3 million people inside the besieged Palestinian enclave. Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 7,300 people have been killed, more than 60% of them minors and women.

The Israeli military’s announcement it was “expanding” ground operations in the territory signalled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza, where it has vowed to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago. More than 1,400 people were slain in Israel during the attack, according to the Israeli government, and at least 229 hostages were taken into Gaza.

The U.N. General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza leading to a cessation of hostilities. It was the first U.N. response to Hamas’ surprise October 7 attacks and Israel’s ongoing military response.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at a global event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York.
| Photo Credit: PTI

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held a series of bilateral meetings with his global counterparts on the sidelines of the high-level United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York, exchanging views on reforming multilateralism and cooperation in G20.

He held separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Mexico, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Armenia on September 24. Jaishankar said it was a “real pleasure” to meet with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena of Mexico.

“Discussed taking forward our Privileged Partnership focussing on business, science & technology, education, economy and traditional medicine. Also exchanged views on reforming multilateralism and our work together in G20,” he said in a post on X.

The External Affairs Minister also met his counterpart from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konakovic and discussed growing bilateral ties with a focus on trade and economy.

Terming his meeting with Konakovic on the sidelines of the UNGA session as “good”, Jaishankar said, “Discussed growing our bilateral ties with (a) focus on trade and economy.” Jaishankar also met with his counterpart from Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan.

“Appreciate his sharing assessment of the current situation in the Caucasus. Affirmed our strong bilateral relationship,” he posted on X.

Jaishankar is scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the President of the 78th UN General Assembly session, Dennis Francis, on Monday.

On Saturday, Jaishankar called on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and discussed the progress of the bilateral development partnership and the situation in Myanmar. The two leaders met on the margins of the high-level UN General Assembly session in New York.

“Pleased to call on Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed the progress of our development partnership,” Jaishankar posted on X.

“Noted as well our expanding defence and cultural cooperation. Exchanged views on Myanmar,” he added. Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Cyprus and Uganda on Saturday.

He began a nine-day visit to the U.S. on Friday, primarily to attend the annual session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and to host a special event on Global South. He would also participate in various plurilateral and bilateral meetings in New York.

He is scheduled to address the General Debate from the UN General Assembly hall on Tuesday.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at a global event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York.
| Photo Credit: PTI

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held a series of bilateral meetings with his global counterparts on the sidelines of the high-level United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York, exchanging views on reforming multilateralism and cooperation in G20.

He held separate bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Mexico, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Armenia on September 24. Jaishankar said it was a “real pleasure” to meet with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena of Mexico.

“Discussed taking forward our Privileged Partnership focussing on business, science & technology, education, economy and traditional medicine. Also exchanged views on reforming multilateralism and our work together in G20,” he said in a post on X.

The External Affairs Minister also met his counterpart from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konakovic and discussed growing bilateral ties with a focus on trade and economy.

Terming his meeting with Konakovic on the sidelines of the UNGA session as “good”, Jaishankar said, “Discussed growing our bilateral ties with (a) focus on trade and economy.” Jaishankar also met with his counterpart from Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan.

“Appreciate his sharing assessment of the current situation in the Caucasus. Affirmed our strong bilateral relationship,” he posted on X.

Jaishankar is scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the President of the 78th UN General Assembly session, Dennis Francis, on Monday.

On Saturday, Jaishankar called on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and discussed the progress of the bilateral development partnership and the situation in Myanmar. The two leaders met on the margins of the high-level UN General Assembly session in New York.

“Pleased to call on Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed the progress of our development partnership,” Jaishankar posted on X.

“Noted as well our expanding defence and cultural cooperation. Exchanged views on Myanmar,” he added. Jaishankar also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Cyprus and Uganda on Saturday.

He began a nine-day visit to the U.S. on Friday, primarily to attend the annual session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and to host a special event on Global South. He would also participate in various plurilateral and bilateral meetings in New York.

He is scheduled to address the General Debate from the UN General Assembly hall on Tuesday.