Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will attend the first in-person meeting of the leaders of the ‘Quad’ countries – Australia, India, Japan and the United States – which will be hosted by US President Joe Biden at the White House on September 24.

PM Modi will meet Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan and Biden, with the four leaders slated to review progress made since their first virtual Summit in March this year and discuss regional issues of shared interest, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.  

Part of their agenda is to review the ‘Quad Vaccine’ initiative as part of their ongoing efforts to tackle COVID-19. They will also discuss other global issues such as technology, infrastructure, cyber security, humanitarian assistance, climate change and others.

Meanwhile,
the Prime Minister will also address the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) scheduled to be held on September 25 in New York, the MEA said in their statement.

The theme for this year’s General Debate is ‘Building Resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations’, the statement added.

Over a hundred world leaders are planning to attend the UNGA in-person. 23 minsters
are slated to speak at the gathering, including PM Modi and United Kingdom
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Associated Press reported.

This
year’s gathering will be a hybrid event due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,
with member states having the option of sending leaders to the UN headquarters
in New York, or send a pre-recorded message to be show in the assembly, as was done
by all countries last year.

A
number of diplomats and leaders have complained that virtual meetings are not
sufficient to discuss global issues, with the number of leaders attending
in-person this year – 71 heads of state and 31 heads of government – an indication
of the importance of the summit.

Iran,
Egypt, France, Indonesia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are among the countries that
will deliver pre-recorded statements.