S Jaishankar Discusses India's G20 Presidency With UN Chief

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday and exchanged views on working together during India's G20 Presidency.

Mr Jaishankar, in a Twitter post, said he valued the UN chief's insights on UNSC reform and the Ukraine conflict.

"A warm meeting with UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres. Valued his insights on UNSC reform and the Ukraine conflict. Exchanged views on working together during India's G20 Presidency," Mr Jaishankar tweeted.

The external affairs minister landed in the US on Tuesday for a two-day visit to preside over two high-level ministerial signature events of India's ongoing Presidency of the UN Security Council on December 14 and 15.

Mr Jaishankar on Wednesday chaired the High-Level Ministerial Open Debate on December 14 on the theme of "New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism" [NORMS].

"Chaired the open debate in the Security Council on New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism. Underlined the three challenges inherent in the IGN process: It is the only one in the United Nations that is conducted without any time frame," he tweeted.

"It is also singular in being negotiated without any text. There is no record keeping that allows progress to be recognized and carried forward," he said in another tweet.

On the sidelines, Mr Jaishankar also met Armenia's foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth Noura AlKaabi and Poland's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Wojciech Gerwel.

The external affairs minister also unveiled Mahatma Gandhi's bust at the premises of the UN Headquarters. The bust, a gift from India to the United Nations, is the first Gandhi sculpture that was installed at the UN Headquarters.

"Honored to join UNSG @antonioguterres and @UN_PGA Csaba Korosi in unveiling the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the @UN Headquarters. May his presence in these hallowed premises inspire the UN to live up to its founding ideals," Mr Jaishankar tweeted.

The High-Level Briefing on December 15 is on "Global Approach to Counter Terrorism - Challenges and Way Forward". Both these themes have been key priorities for India during its current tenure at the UN Security Council.

In an earlier release, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said the primary focus of the Open Debate on Reformed Multilateralism is to encourage all Member States to seriously address the pressing need for reforms in the global governance multilateral architecture, including the long-standing reforms of the UN Security Council.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)