Jaishankar will address the annual high-level session of the UN General Assembly on September 26

According to the revised provisional list of speakers for the high-level meeting, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar is scheduled to address the general debate in the afternoon session on September 26. File. | Photo credit: AP

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will address the annual high-level session of the UN General Assembly on September 26.

The 81st session of the UN General Assembly kicks off on September 8, and world leaders will address the 193-member organization at the General Debate, which will run from September 22-28.

According to the revised provisional list of speakers for the high-level session released on Friday (4 September 2026), Mr Jaishankar is scheduled to address the general debate at the afternoon session on 26 September.

Last year he addressed world leaders from the UN podium. Brazil will be the traditional first speaker at the General Debate starting on September 22, followed by the US. The year-long 81st session of the UN General Assembly will be chaired by Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, who was elected to head the 193-member UN organization in June.

US President Donald Trump will address world leaders from the iconic podium of the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, his second address to the United Nations in his second term in the White House.

Considered the “busiest diplomatic season” of the year at the United Nations headquarters, the high-level meeting opens every year in September.

This year’s meeting comes amid ongoing geopolitical conflicts around the world, including the month-long US-Israeli war against Iran, which has had a devastating cascading effect on countries in the Global South as well as LDCs, affected by rising food and fuel prices due to the ongoing breach of the Strait of Hormuz.

Meetings to be held during the UN General Assembly include a high-level meeting to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development and a meeting on climate action and just transition.

A high-level meeting to address the existential threats posed by sea-level rise; pandemic prevention, preparedness and response; and a plenary session to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons.

The Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and Nepal will address the general debate on September 24, followed by Pakistan a day later.

It will also be the last high-level UN General Assembly meeting for current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose second five-year term at the helm of the global organization ends this December.

The process of electing the next head of the UN is underway, and all eyes are on whether a woman will be chosen to lead the 80-year-old body for the first time in its history.

Published – 05 Sep 2026 10:26 IST