Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is slated to address the high level segment of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly on the morning of September 28.
During his stay in New York, where the 192-member UN headquarters is located, Singh will have wide-ranging discussions with American President George W Bush on bilateral and international issues. The Indo-US civilian nuclear deal is also expected to come up during their meeting on the sidelines of the General Assembly session.
The prime minister is also expected to hold high level meetings with several world leaders on issues of mutual importance.
Bush will address the Assembly on September 25, the opening day of the 7-day high-level segment, and immediately following him will be Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf if he attends the Assembly.
A day before the high level segment, the Assembly will hold a special session on the climate change.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited Bush to attend the session but it is not yet known whether Bush plans to address it also.
Generally, the American president stays for two days after his address to meet world leaders.
The ongoing international fight against terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Darfur, the Iran nuclear imbroglio and UN reforms including expansion of the Security Council are among the issues that are expected to figure prominently in discussions.
A dominating issue will also be the UN Millennium Development Goals set up by world leaders in 2000, with assessment being that they are nowhere near being fulfilled.
Leaders are expected to suggest what needs to be done so that the goals which calls for eliminating or drastically reducing several social and economic ills by 2015 are met.
Poverty alleviation, combating HIV/AIDS and other debilitating diseases, especially in Africa, and effects of globalisation are among other subjects that the world leaders are expected to discuss in their 15-minute presentations.
The tentative statistics released by the United Nations shows that at least 72 heads of State, 32 heads of government and 67 foreign ministers have registered for addressing the high-level segment.
Ban will present his report right at the beginning of the segment on September 25. Traditionally, Brazil is the first speaker and is followed by the host country. The French president and the British prime minister are listed to address the Assembly but China and Russia will be represented at the foreign ministers level.
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