The President of the United Nations General Assembly will leave for a 5-day visit to India on Monday.

UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis will begin a five-day visit to India on Monday, during which New Delhi is expected to press him to pursue long-pending reform of the Security Council.

Apart from holding talks with his Indian interlocutors in New Delhi, the top UN official will also visit Jaipur and Mumbai.

Announcing his visit from January 22-26, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday said Francis will lay a wreath at the 26/11 memorial in Mumbai.

It said that the visit of the President of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA) to India will also be an opportunity to enhance the country’s cooperation with the global organization.

“The visit of the PGA to India presents a unique opportunity to strengthen India-UN relations and especially with the General Assembly, which is the most representative organ of the United Nations,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The UN official is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on key multilateral issues of mutual interest.

“Discussions during the visit will include India’s call for reforms in the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, to make it more equitable and representative with a view to increasing the representation of developing countries,” it said. ‘

The Ministry of External Affairs said Francis’ visit will also be an opportunity to enhance India’s cooperation with the United Nations on Indian priorities as well as global challenges facing the Global South.

PGA will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi.

He is also scheduled to participate in a roundtable on India’s progress in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

Francis will also deliver a public address on ‘Multilateralism and Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Stability’ at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).

On January 26, PGA will participate in the Republic Day Parade of Maharashtra as the state guest.

Belonging to the diplomatic service of Trinidad and Tobago, Francis has declared his presidential priorities to include peace, prosperity, progress and stability.

The theme of his chairmanship of the 78th UNGA is ‘Rebuilding Trust and Rekindling Solidarity’.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)