Swaraj to have over half a dozen bilateral engagements at UNGA including one with Nepal

New Delhi, Sep 26: External affairs minister of India Sushma Swaraj will have over half a dozen bilateral meeting with her counterparts besides attending meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the NAM on Palestine. India had planned one such meeting with Pakistan at the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that was later called off due to Pakistan position towards terrorism but Swaraj would be meeting with the Nepalese PM there.

The external affairs minister will have her first bilateral engagement of the day with Germany's foreign minister Heiko Mass. In this meeting all the bilateral issues concerning India and Germany will figure especially business and security issues. After Germany, the Indian foreign minister will be meeting vice president and foreign minister of Panama Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado.

After these two bilateral meetings are over, Sushma Swaraj will attend a meeting by secretary general on climate change which is a major concern for developing countries like India. Issues related to carbon emission norms will be taken up in the meeting.

The external affair minister will then have two more bilateral meetings one with external affairs minister of Austria Karin Kneissi and the other with the Armenian foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. But after these two bilateral engagements, the meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the NAM on Palestine is an important engagement for the external affairs minister of India. The issue of Palestine for India has been very important as India maintains a good relations with Israel as well which is not only India's good business partner but also strategic and technology partner specially in agriculture, irrigation, water and software sectors.

Once the external affairs minister is through with the meeting on Palestine, she will have four back to back bilateral meetings including with one of the other neighbour country of India that is Nepal. Sushma Swaraj will meet Prime Minister of Nepal K P Sharma Oli. But before meeting with Oli, she will have a bilateral meeting with the leader of Antigua and Barbuda. Foreign minister of Bolivia Fernando Huanacuni Mamani's bilateral meeting is also scheduled with Swaraj. The external affairs minister will also be meeting with Chile's foreign minister Roberto Ampuero and Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javed Zarif which the issue of oil supply to India and US sanctions might figure in the bilateral talks.

Indian external affairs minister already requested world leaders present at the United Nations Genaral Assembly to work towards ending conflict, terror and hateful ideologies transcending national borders.