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External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, who will be attending the 56th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, is expected to have a marathon schedule of meetings at both the multilateral and bilateral level. Besides official diplomatic engagements, Krishna will be attending a reception hosted by US President Barack Obama on September 23 and a lunch hosted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. He will also host a reception in which many head of states are expected to come. Krishna's delegation comprises of Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Minister of State for Information and Technology Sachin Pilot and Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh. Krishna is representing India at UNGA for the second consecutive year and he has been slotted as one of the key speakers at the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Summit. He will also attend a high-level meeting on disarmament on the sidelines of the UNGA. Meetings of the Group of 15 nations, Group of Four nations, a meeting of representatives of India, Brazil, South Africa (IBSA), NAM, Commonwealth, Group of Seven, CECA and the SAARC Council are also lined up for Krishna. Several one-to-one meetings are also being fixed and the bilateral component of Krishna's program includes a meeting with his US counterpart Hillary Clinton on September 27. According to MEA sources, Krishna will be meeting his counterparts from Bangladesh, Belgium, France, Nigeria, Russia, and South Africa. Krishna' s meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is yet to be fixed, but the two leaders are expected to come face-to-face on a number of occasions, including the SAARC Council meeting, NAM, Group of 77, a meeting on biodiversity and a disarmament conference. MEA sources told ANI that many more requests of bilateral meetings have been received and that minister's program is still evolving. During the UNGA session, India is expected to place emphasis on strengthening multilateralism, international peace and security, disarmament and on global issues like terrorism and sustainable development. India will also use the occasion to garner support for its demand to be given permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council. Elections for non-permanent membership are expected to take place next month. India is also hopeful that world body would adopt the Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism. According to sources, only a handful of countries (ten to fifteen) are holding up the passage of the convention. "Bridging text has been cleared by the chair and the adhoc committee will be meeting in the second half of October," a source said.

Packed calendar for Krishna at 56th UNGA in New York