Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming trip to the US will be about showcasing his report card of the past five years before the global audience.
There is much to boast about. The Centre wants to highlight its achievements in sustainable development goals (SDGs), climate change mitigation, universal health coverage, and sanitation. As foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said, the visit is as much about informing the world of India's progress in these areas as it is about India telling the world that it will be shaping a global agenda.
Multilateralism is at the centre of global politics right now, and India is clear on its demand for a reformed multilateralism that is in tune with present global realities and not one which is half a century old.
In the past five years, India used every international platform available to name and shame Pakistan as an exporter of terrorism. While terror remains an important topic of discussion for India at the various bilateral and plurilateral meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), this time the focus will be on the government's achievements.
So, while Pakistan is likely to raise the Kashmir issue, Gokhale made it clear that India would not discuss abrogation of Article 370 as it was an internal matter.
Modi will arrive in Houston on September 21 and have a business roundtable with leaders in energy sector.
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The 'Howdy Modi' event with the Indian diaspora, with US President Donald Trump in attendance, is on September 22. Modi will also interact with members of the US Congress.
The prime minister will leave for New York on September 23, where he will attend meetings chaired by the United General Secretary Antonio Guterres on climate change and universal health coverage.
On September 24, the prime minister will attend a UN event to mark 150 years of M.K. Gandhi's birthday and hold a talk on Gandhi's relevance in the present time. The prime ministers of South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand will also attend the event.
A Gandhi solar park on the roof of the UNGA building will be inaugurated on the occasion. India had given a million US dollars for this.
A Gandhi peace park in New York will also be inaugurated. The US will also release a special stamp on Gandhi to mark the occasion.
Modi will attend several meetings over the next two days and deliver his address to the UNGA on September 27. This will be his first talk since the one he gave in 2014 at the UNGA.
Modi will interact with 24 heads of delegations at the various plurilaterals such as Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) with the Caribbean island nation and the Pacific island states meeting. In addition, he will have 20 other bilaterals.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also hold several high-level meetings and will head for Washington DC after the UNGA to engage with the US leadership, while Modi would return home. Minister of State V. Muraleedharan too will be part of the delegation and engage with various groups.
