United Nations: India’s engagement with the UN and water conservation projects in the country will be among the focus areas of discussions for UN General Assembly President Csaba Korösi as he undertakes an official visit to India from January 29 to 31.
During his first official visit to India as President of the 77th session of the General Assembly, Korösi will meet with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in New Delhi.
Discussions between the two are expected to continue on topics raised during their last meeting in December, “among them the ongoing priorities of the General Assembly and India’s engagement with the UN body”.
These priorities are also expected to be on the agenda when Korösi visits India’s G20 Secretariat, and meets with a delegation led by G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant.
In December last year, during India’s Presidency of the UN Security Council, Jaishankar had met Korösi here and discussed India’s tenure in the Council, the country’s goals as G20 president and importance of reformed multilateralism.
Korösi had said that he had also discussed maximising synergies on water with Jaishankar. India had assumed the monthly rotating presidency of the Security Council, before its tenure ended, as well as the year-long presidency of the G20 on December 1 last year.
Korösi’s visit to India will include conversations with government officials, leading national scientists and academics, and include field visits related to sustainable water use, a statement issued by his spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The visit, conducted at the invitation of the Indian Government, coincides with the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, observed as Martyrs’ Day.
Korösi will lay a wreath at Raj Ghat to mark the anniversary of Gandhi’s death. Jaishankar, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Korösi had jointly unveiled the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the expansive North Lawns in the UN headquarters last month.
The General Assembly President will discuss India’s water conservation projects with senior officials and experts at NITI Aayog. He is also scheduled to participate in field visits in Bengaluru, where he is expected to visit a water project site.
While in the city, the president will interact with national scientists and academics at the Indian Institute of Science.
His other public appearances in New Delhi will include an address at the Indian Council of World Affairs under the theme of his priorities for the current General Assembly session, which is “Solutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science”.
A main focus of the visit is on making connections between the General Assembly and science, particularly on the issue of water, ahead of the UN Water Conference in March.
The President, joined by his Chef de Cabinet László Szoke, Chief Scientific Advisor Johannes Cullmann and two senior Office colleagues, will also meet with UN Resident Coordinator in India Shombi Sharp.
