Image Source: Agencies

Aug 13, 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the annual high-level session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September, according to a provisional list of speakers issued by the UN here.

On September 9, the UNGA's 80th session will begin. The high-level General Debate will take place from September 23 to September 29, with Brazil serving as the customary opening speaker, followed by the United States. US President Donald Trump will address world leaders from the iconic UNGA podium on September 23, his first address to the UN session in his second term in the White House.

India's "Head of Government (HG)" will address the session on September 26 morning, according to the provisional list of speakers for the high-level debate of the 80th session of the General Assembly. On the same day, Israel, China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh's heads of government are also scheduled to speak at the UNGA general debate. In February of this year, Modi had traveled to the United States to meet with Trump one-on-one at the White House in Washington, DC. Modi and Trump had made plans to negotiate the first part of a multi-sector, mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025 in a joint statement released after their meeting. Even as trade negotiations were ongoing, Trump imposed tariffs totalling 50 per cent on India, including 25 per cent for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil that will come into effect from August 27.

Responding to the tariffs, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said that the targeting of the country is unjustified and unreasonable.

According to the statement, "Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security." Last week’s announcement of Trump’s executive order imposing the additional 25 per cent tariff came at a time when a team from the US is scheduled to visit India from August 25 for the sixth round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement.

The first phase of the agreement between the two nations should be completed by autumn (October-November) of this year. The UNGA's list of speakers for the General Debate is provisional, and schedules and speakers may change in the coming weeks. As a result, the list will continue to be updated. The annual high-level session begins in September and is referred to as the "busiest diplomatic season" at UN Headquarters. The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the conflict in Ukraine coincide with this year's session.

A peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Thailand, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo are among the wars that Trump has claimed he has resolved in the first six months of his second term. Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for stopping the May conflict between India and Pakistan.