New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would attend the General Assembly and particularly participate in a key climate change summit, an area he said India can make important contributions.
Ban’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric informed that he is aware of reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi will not be attending the Secretary General’s climate change summit on September 23 during the upcoming 69th UN General Assembly session that begins this month.
“I think the important issue for us is really on the commitments that countries will bring. And the Secretary- General expects every Member State to come with strong and bold commitments on climate change,” Dujarric said.
Dujarric also said India has a big role to play on the issue of climate change and it has very important contributions to make. The one-day summit will mark the first time in five years that world leaders will get together to chart a bold, new course of action on climate change. The Secretary-General has asked leaders to announce significant and substantial initiatives to help move the world toward a path that will limit global warming.
Modi is expected to reach New York on September 26 and address the UN General Assembly the next day, giving his first global speech to an audience of nearly 200 world leaders and foreign ministers at the annual gathering of the world body’s policymaking organ.
 After a grand community reception at the Madison Square Garden on September 28, Modi will head to Washington for his crucial bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama.