UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to leave Monday night for a two-day visit to India during which he will have talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders, but his spokesman evaded a question whether he will raise with them the Kashmir dispute and lso the continuing attacks on Muslims in that country.
It will be the UN chief’s first visit to India, since he commenced his second term in office in January 2022. He has earlier visited India (in his first term) in 2018.
The secretary-general’s visit to India was announced at the regular noon briefing in New York on Monday.
Asked by APP correspondent whether the UN chief will be discussing with the Indian leaders the deteriorating situation in occupied Kashmir and also raise with them the ongoing persecution of Muslims there, his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said, “If I can ask you … to bear with me and wait for a readout of what is actually been discussed, and then we can talk about what’s been said, instead of saying what may be said.”
During his visit, the secretary-general, besides his talks, will also visit a model project site, which has recently been declared India’s first solar powered village.
At the site, the Secretary-General will witness how solar rooftops installed on more than 1,300 rural houses are improving lives in the community, the UN said.
The Secretary-General will then proceed to Viet Nam, where he will take part in a ceremony to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Viet Nam’s membership of the UN.
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