PM Modi is scheduled to visit the Eastern coast of USA in the third week of September where he will be involved in a host of bilateral and multilateral engagements. The trip corresponds to the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, and the Prime Minister is using the opportunity to commemorate the father of the nation, in the United States.

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Leadership Matters: Relevance of Gandhi in the Contemporary World

On September 24, PM Modi will host a special event, ‘Leadership Matters: Relevance of Gandhi in the Contemporary World’. This event is going to take place in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber in the UN Headquarters. The event will be attended by several top leaders. While Mahatama Gandhi is a globally revered figure, primarily due to his humanitarian policies on truth, non-violence, and secularism; not many are aware of the applicability in the current times. PM Modi, through the event, is expected to shed some light about the relevance of Gandhi's policies in the prevailing times, for the world leaders to imbibe and follow.

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Gandhi Peace Garden

PM Modi will also inaugurate the 'Gandhi Peace Garden', in New York as an innovative initiative to commemorate Gandhi's 150 birth anniversary this year. The garden is dedicated in the memory of Gandhi and is an open site within the 600 acres campus of the State University of New York.

Under this initiative, the Consulate General of India in New York, Long Island-based NGO Shanti Fund and the State University of New York - Old Westbury have reportedly entered into an agreement to plant 150 trees. The trees are going to represent the different states in the US. Moreover, the people in the US have been invited to adopt the various trees in the garden, in memory of their loved ones. Thus, the project will essentially be crowdsourced. 

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Other Engagements in USA

According to an updated list of speakers for the General Debate of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, PM Modi will address the high-level session on the morning of September 27.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host the 2019 Climate Action Summit on September 23, in an effort to boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. PM Modi is expected to address this summit. 

The UN will also reportedly host the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit 2019 on September 24 and 25. Heads of States and Governments will gather at the United Nations Headquarters to follow up and comprehensively review progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, as well as its 17 SDGs, which PM Modi is expected to attend.

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PM Modi will be honoured by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which will present him the 2019 Global Goalkeeper Award for his leadership of the Swachch Bharat Mission. According to the foundation, it is a "special recognition" that celebrates a political leader who has demonstrated their commitment to the Global Goals through impactful work in their country and/or globally. 

On September 25, PM Modi is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum. Sources have said that after PM Modi's keynote address, there will be a Q&A session with the Indian leader. 

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Before arriving in New York for the UNGA session, PM Modi is expected to visit Houston where he will address the Indian-American community on September 22. "Howdy, Modi!", the Indian-American community summit, will be hosted by the Texas India Forum. The event is expected to be attended by tens of thousands of people, including influential US lawmakers and political leaders. 

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