EAM Jaishankar reaches New York ahead of high-level UNSC meetings, Amb Tirumurti welcomes

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar has reached New York on Monday ahead of two high-level meetings of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Taking to Twitter, Ambassador of India to United Nations, T S Tirumurti shared a picture with the EAM Minister and said that he is delighted to receive the External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in New York.

India at United Nations Security Council meetings

The meeting is taking place at a time when India is currently holding the presidency of the United Nations Security Council. Dr S Jaishankar will be presiding over two-high level signature events as these are the current priorities for India during its UNSC presidential tenure. 

The first meeting is scheduled for August 18 followed by the second meeting on August 19.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday, the first event will be an open debate on 'Protecting the Protectors' Technology and Peacekeeping', while the second one will be a high-level briefing on 'Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts'.

EAM Minister Jaishankar to chair UNSC high-level meetings 

The first event which is in open debate on peacekeeping will focus on protecting the Peacekeepers and the strategies to aid peacekeeping missions. Further, India in collaboration with the UN will also roll out the UNITE AWARE Platform, a situational awareness software programme allowing Peacekeeping Operations Centre to visualise and analyse the ground situation in a conflict zone. India has partnered with the UN to roll out the UNITE Aware platform initially in four UN Peacekeeping Missions: MUNISMA (Mali), UNMISS (South Sudan), UNFICYP (Cyprus), and AMISOM (Somalia).

The second event is a priority amid the ongoing terrorist activities in Afghanistan.  The meeting will be focused on the six-monthly report of the UN Secretary-General on the threat posed by the Islamic State under the agenda item "Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts."

The press release further highlights that an MoU can also be signed during the visit between the Indian Government and United Nations for supporting the 'Partnership for Technology in Peacekeeping' initiative. 

Further, EAM Jaishankar will also have bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of other member states besides the main events. 

(Image Credits: TS Tirumurti/Twitter)