PM Modi to deliver virtual keynote address at High-Level Segment of UN ECOSOC on Friday

New Delhi, July 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday deliver a virtual keynote address at this year's High-Level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council session of the United Nations.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, Modi will be speaking at the valedictory session along with Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The annual High-level Segment convenes a diverse group of high-level representatives from the government, the private sector, the civil society, and academia, a PMO statement said.

The theme of this year's High-level Segment is "Multilateralism after COVID19: What kind of UN do we need at the 75th anniversary". This will be first opportunity for PM Modi to address 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.

Set against the changing international environment and the COVID-19 pandemic, the 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, it pointed out.

The theme of the High-level Segment of the ECOSOC, on the 75th Anniversary of the UN, also resonates with India's Security Council priority, wherein it has called for '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). Modi had earlier delivered a keynote address virtually at the 70th anniversary of ECOSOC in January 2016, the statement said.