10 events, award, plurilateral-bilateral meets and Indo-Pak face off as Modi heads to US

Journalist Smita Sharma in this article talks about Modi’s complete engagements in the US over the next few days and how it will impact countries involved.

Hyderabad:Sharing stage with US President Donald Trump, dialogue with energy majors, policy speeches in summits hosted by the United Nations General Secretary on climate change and universal health to the key address to the General Assembly amid high voltage tension with Pakistan and at least 20 bilateral meetings along the sidelines are among the many engagements for Prime Minister Modi in the next few days.

As the Indian Prime Minister heads to the United States on Friday, a packed agenda awaits his week-long two city tour to Houston and New York. Modi will kick off his fourth official tour to the United States as Prime Minister with a Round Table with CEOs from 16 major energy firms including ExxonMobil and BP on Saturday no sooner after reaching Houston - considered the energy capitals of the world.

“Energy, of course, is the major new component in the Indo-US trade mix. We import approximately $4 billion worth of oil and gas from the United States and this interaction that Prime Minister will have with the energy majors of the United States is essentially not only to show that we are an important market but also to discuss investment and other possible opportunities in the economic area,” said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale ahead of the meeting.

It is on Sunday the 22nd of September when US President Donald Trump will join Prime Minister Modi for the much-awaited “Howdy, Modi!” diaspora event that promises to be an unprecedented diplomatic spectacle.

With nearly 50000 people in audience dominantly Indo-Americans, it will be a first for a serving American President to join an Indian Prime Minister at a rally signifying the rise of the community today in the political corridors. While PM Modi in a trademark style has reached out to the diaspora during all his official overseas visits, the Houston rally is the third of its kind major event in the US after Madison Square Garden in 2014 and San Jose in 2015.

“I regard this as a great achievement of the Indian American community that if today there is an event of this size and you have someone like President Trump coming there, I think this shows really where that community has reached. How it is regarded in the United States, the respect that it commands out there,” said External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar at his recent press interaction.

On Monday the 23rd for the second time after 2015, Modi would address the Climate Change Summit hosted by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. India’s sustainable development goals, climate change aspirations and expectations from the international community would be key in the address. Modi would later highlight his healthcare flagship Ayushman Bharat initiative at the Universal Health Coverage Summit also hosted by Guterres.

A Leaders’ dialogue on Strategic Responses to Terrorists and Violent Extremist Narratives hosted jointly by the Jordanian King, French President, New Zealand PM and UN Secretary-General will also see Modi share his thoughts on countering terrorism along with German Chancellor Merkel, Presidents of Kenya and Indonesia and the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Significantly during his recent official visits to the Maldives and Sri Lanka, PM Modi has batted for a global leadership summit on Counter-Terrorism.

A crucial bilateral meeting is lined up on Tuesday in Big Apple between Modi and Trump separate from the Houston event. The two leaders who met this year along sidelines of the G20 Osaka summit and G7 Biarritz summit, have a lot on their platter from trade issues to defence and security cooperation to India- Pakistan tension and the situation in South Asia and Indo-Pacific including in Afghanistan.

The Korean President, Prime Ministers of Singapore, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Jamaica, as well as Guterres, would be in attendance at an event titled ‘Leadership Matters – Relevance of Gandhi in Contemporary Times’ to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in the UN.

The event would see the launch of Gandhi Solar Park - installation of solar panel on the rooftop of the UN headquarters from a grant of $1 million that India has given towards renewable energy, a UN Postage stamp and the remote inauguration of the Gandhi Peace Garden at the State University of New York Campus at Old Westbury where 150 trees have been planted in honour of the Mahatma.

On the same day, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will confer the Global Goalkeeper’s Goal’ award on PM Modi at the Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts.“It is given every year to a world leader for achievement in a specific SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) and the previous winners have been Prime Minister Solberg of Norway and President Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia.

This year the Gates Foundation is honouring the Prime Minister for his leadership in the field of sanitation through the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan,” said Vijay Gokhale.

On the 25th of September Modi will deliver the keynote address at the opening plenary of the Bloomberg Global Business Forum and participate in a conversation with entrepreneur and three-time former Mayor of New York Mike Bloomberg.

An investment round table soon after will also ascertain industry feedback about investments and business plan in India from 40 major companies including JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin, American Tower Corporation, Bank of America, MasterCard, Walmart and more.

For the second time after 2014, PM Modi will address the General Assembly in the High-Level Segment on September 27. A call for reformed multilateralism at the centre of global politics will be key to his speech.

Even as Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to raise the K bogey and the valley situation in his address following Modi’s, India is downplaying the Abrogation of Article 370 as an internal matter that will not be at the centre of PM Modi’s speech in the UNGA.

“Among the many issues terrorism is definitely one of them but the focus will not be on it. The focus will be what could be the role of India in this international platform and Prime Minister will present his vision in this regard,” remarked the Foreign Secretary on Thursday.

Asked what will India’s counter be at the General Assembly to Pakistani rhetoric on Kashmir, Indian permanent representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin today responded, “They may stoop low, we soar high. What they want to do is their call. We’ve seen them mainstream terrorism in the past. And what you’re now telling me is they may want to mainstream hate speech.”

While in New York Modi will also co-chair the India-Pacific Islands States’s Leader’s summit on 24th as well as summit meeting with top leaders from 14 Caribbean countries with a focus on South-South cooperation.

India will announce the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, a virtual network to bring on board a group of countries with experience, technology, financial capability to help countries build back better after a natural disaster that has devastated the infrastructure in these countries.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Minister of State V Muraleedharan will also engage with groups such as NAM, SAARC, Commonwealth, CICA (Group of 77) and BRICS during this period in New York.

- by Smita Sharma