EAM Jaishankar Meets UNGA President Annalena Baerbock, Discusses AI, SDGs and West Asia Crisis

EAM S. Jaishankar met Annalena Baerbock, President of the United Nations General Assembly, in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss key global issues, including sustainable development, artificial intelligence, and the ongoing West Asia conflict.

During the meeting, Jaishankar highlighted the importance of “reformed multilateralism” that reflects current global realities, particularly the interests of the Global South. The discussions also covered the UN’s 80th anniversary (UN80) and progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

“A pleasure to host UNGA President Annalena Baerbock in New Delhi. Discussed UN80, SDGs, AI implications and the West Asia conflict. Underscored the need for reformed multilateralism reflective of today’s realities,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.

Earlier in the day, Baerbock paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. She is on a two-day official visit to India at Jaishankar’s invitation.

The Ministry of External Affairs said the visit underscores India’s continued engagement with the United Nations. During her stay, Baerbock is also scheduled to interact with officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on governance and regulation of artificial intelligence.

Ahead of her arrival, officials confirmed that Baerbock will meet the UN team in India, led by Resident Coordinator Stefan Priesner.

This marks the second high-level UN visit to India this year, following António Guterres’s trip to New Delhi in February for an AI summit.

Baerbock, who has previously visited India as Germany’s Foreign Minister, is familiar with the country. However, this is her first visit in her current role as UNGA President. She is expected to travel to China after concluding her India visit.