Prime Minister Narendra Modi is provisionally scheduled to address the UN General Assembly’s high-level debate in New York on September 25, 2026, as several major leaders skip this year’s session.

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• PM Modi is provisionally scheduled to address the UN General Assembly’s high-level session on the afternoon of September 25, 2026, a slot running 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. New York time.
• The address falls under the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, whose General Debate theme is “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”
• Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, elected to the post in June, is presiding over the session as its president.
• Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is listed to speak in the same afternoon session as PM Modi.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are both skipping this year’s General Assembly meeting.
• Xi Jinping is reportedly travelling to Washington for a summit with US President Donald Trump the same week instead of attending the UN session.
• Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to speak on September 23 amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
• The General Assembly will also hear addresses from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the high-level week.
• PM Modi has addressed six previous high-level UN General Assembly sessions since his maiden speech in 2014.
• Beyond the formal General Assembly podium, visiting leaders are expected to hold several hundred bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines during the high-level week.