United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) president Csaba Korosi will make his first bilateral foreign visit since assuming the position to India during January 29-31 for discussions on multilateral and regional issues.
Korosi, a career diplomat from Hungary who served as his country’s permanent representative to the UN, is visiting at the invitation of external affairs minister S Jaishankar. He became president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2022.
Besides holding talks with Jaishankar on key multilateral and regional issues of mutual interest, Korosi will interact with senior officials of NITI Aayog and India’s G20 presidency team to explore the scaling up of the country’s best practices, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
On January 30, Korosi will deliver a public address at the Indian Council of World Affairs on his presidency theme of “Solutions through solidarity, sustainability and science in the UN”.
He will also witness the “Beating the Retreat” ceremony on January 29 and pay floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat on January 30, on the occasion of Shaheed Diwas.
On January 31, Korosi will travel to Bengaluru, where his engagements include an interaction with scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and a field visit to an IISc-led water conservation project. He is also expected to visit developments projects in and around Bengaluru and interact with the UN’s India country team.
Korosi has a strong interest in India’s expertise in water management and experience in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He has outlined five priorities for his UN General Assembly presidency – standing firm on basic principles of the UN Charter; making measurable progress in sustainability transformation, working on integrated, systemic solutions, enhancing the role of science in decision-making, and increasing solidarity to tackle new crises facing the world.
The external affairs ministry said the visit will be an opportunity to exchange views on global challenges that the UN is currently seized with. “It would help reinforce India’s abiding commitment to multilateralism, including through its ongoing G20 presidency, and how it would address these global challenges meaningfully for a better future for the Global South,” the statement said.