EAM Sushma Swaraj to address UN General Assembly in New York today

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will address the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York this evening. The General Debate opened on Tuesday and will run till Monday. Mrs Swaraj, who addressed the General Debate last year as well, reached New York last Saturday and participated in several bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral meetings.

Speaking at a SAARC meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA session, Ms Swaraj called for efforts to eliminate terrorism in all its forms. In the presence of her Pakistani



counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Mrs Swaraj said, an environment of peace and security in South Asia is essential for cooperation and economic development. 

The SAARC grouping includes India, Pakistan and six other regional countries. Ms Swaraj also attended the meeting of Foreign Ministers of BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. She said the member states should speak with a stronger voice on the critical issue of achieving the long-pending UN Security Council reform.