UN Secretary-General to visit India between 1 and 3 October 2018

UN Secretary-General Mr. António Guterres will travel to India, arriving in New Delhi on Monday, 1 October.

His visit coincides with the beginning of events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi on 2 October 2019.  In 2007, the General Assembly designated 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence.

In the evening of Monday, 1 October, the Secretary-General will formally open the new UN House in New Delhi.

The following morning, Tuesday, 2 October, the Secretary-General will participate in the closing session of the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention.

He will also meet with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Sumitra Mahajan, before giving an address at the India Habitat Centre on Global Affairs on the theme “Global challenges, global solutions”.

In the evening, the Secretary-General will take part in the General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance.

The following day, Wednesday, 3 October, the Secretary-General will meet with President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.  In the afternoon, he will visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The Secretary-General returns to New York on Thursday, 4 October.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: And today, we would like to say a special thank you to the Government of India, which is contributing $1 million to install solar panels and a green roof on the Conference Building of the United Nations Secretariat.  The contribution was received by Under-Secretary-General for Management, Jan Beagle, who said that “India’s generous contribution sends a strong message promoting innovation for action on climate change, and to enable greater efficiencies”.  The initiative will help the Secretariat reduce its carbon footprint and promote sustainable energy.