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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address at a UN membership Friday in an annual High-Level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESC) session.

India got elected as the non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the first time and now the Prime Minister of India; Mr. Narendra Modi will address a United Nations body that is the United Nations Economic and Social Council or UNESC. He is going to deliver a key note on Friday. The keynote is going to be virtual because of the coronavirus pandemicand travel restrictions because of the safety reasons. The Key note segment will be from 9:30 am till 11.300 am local time at the United Nations in New York. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi will be speaking along with the Prime Minister of Norway and Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres.

The High Level segment which happens once annually sees a diverse group of attendees. From the high level representatives from the government, the private sector, from the civil society and the academia sector.

Every year there is a theme of the United Nations high level segment of UNESC and this year the theme is- Multilateralism after Covid-19- What kind of UN do we need at the 75th anniversary

This year the segment will talk about how the Covid-19 is changing the national and international environment. Set against the changing international environment and the COVID-19 pandemic, this session will focus on critical forces shaping the course of multilateralism and explore ways to bolster the global agenda through strong leadership, effective international institutions, a broadening of participation and enhanced significance of global public goods.

This is a great opportunity for India on a global level as this will be the first time Prime Minister Modi will address to the broader UN membership since India’s overwhelming election as a non-permanent member of the Security Council on June 17, for the term 2021-22.

The theme of the High-Level Segment of the ECOSOC, on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN, also resonates with India’s Security Council priority, wherein India has called for a reformed multilateralism’ in a post-COVID-19 world. It also recalls India’s role, as the holder of the inaugural Presidency of ECOSOC (Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar, in 1946).The Prime Minister had earlier delivered the keynote address virtually at the 70th anniversary of the ECOSOC in January 2016. It is safe to say that India while dealing with a pandemic is also doing well in the international market whether it is the new multinational investors in the Indian companies or if it is in form of war and trade.

By Deepika Agarwal