PM Modi to visit US for UN Climate Action Summit
New York: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the US in September for the Climate Action Summit convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, he is expected to visit Houston to attend a massive Indian diaspora rally, according to a source familiar with the preliminary planning.
While his participation in the climate summit and a high-level general assembly debate was listed among his forthcoming foreign travel plans soon after his election in May, the Houston meeting is still to be officially announced.
A community source close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the planning for the Houston rally was still in a preliminary stage with the date still to be determined and there has been an outreach to different community groups about participating in it.
The source added that it was not to be a party affair and would be organised by groups representing a cross-section of the diaspora in Texas to show his broad appeal to the Indian community in the US.
Always looking for opportunities to connect with Indian diaspora during his travels abroad, Modi has participated in three large community meetings – in New York, San Jose and Washington – during his previous visits.
The Climate Action Summit called by Guterres will take place on September 23, followed by the high-level segment of the assembly that lasts a week. Therefore, Modi's visit to Houston will have to take place either before the UN events in New York or after he has spoken at the general debate.
The UN says the climate summit is to "showcase a leap in collective national political ambition and it will demonstrate massive movements in the real economy in support of the agenda".
Modi can expect a star role at the climate meeting as he has been repeatedly praised by Guterres for his work and future plans to fight climate change.
Last year, Guterres presented him with the UN Champions of the Earth Award for Policy Leadership. During the UN meetings, Modi will have an opportunity to meet several leaders.