Sushma Swaraj reaches New York for 73rd UNGA session

New York City, Sep 23: Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in New York to attend the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Swaraj will also participate in several bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral meetings.

Swaraj was also slated to meet her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UNGA.

However, after increasing reports of violence on police and army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, the meeting was called off.

On Monday, 24 September, the UNGA will hold a high-level plenary meeting on global peace in honor of the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, known as the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit. The plenary will adopt a political declaration negotiated by Member States. In May 2018 the Permanent Representatives of South Africa and Ireland, serving as co-facilitators, began consulting with governments on the content of the declaration.

On Wednesday, 26 September, the UNGA will hold a high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis, as agreed by Member States in February 2018. The SDG Knowledge Hub has reported on those consultations here.

On Thursday, 27 September, the UN will hold a one-day comprehensive review of the progress achieved in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which will be the third high-level meeting of the UNGA on the issue. SDG Knowledge Hub coverage of this process can be accessed here.

A number of events will take place in parallel to the opening of the 73rd session of the UNGA under the banners of Global Goals Week 2018 and Climate Week NYC 2018.