New York, Sept 25: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is expected to demand that the world unite to root out terrorism and ensure international peace and security when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly today. Woven around the Prime Minister's scheduled participation in the annual session of UN General Assembly in New York are a number of meetings he will have with world leaders, including with US President George W Bush.
With twin bomb blasts in Mumbai still fresh in the memory, the theme of combating terrorism is most likely to dominate Vajpayee's utterances at the General Assembly as well as during his meetings with world leaders.
The Prime Minister is expected to refer to terrorist attacks in different parts of the world during the last year and assert that no region or country is immune to terrorists. Hence the need for coordinated global fight against the scourge.

Iraq, Palestinian issues, need for multilateral approach to conflicts and to economic questions and importance of reforming the United Nations including expansion of the Security Council would be the other major subjects on Vajpayee's agenda during his week-long visit to the US.



An area of concern to India is resurgence of Taliban in Afghanistan and that concern would be reflected in the discussions.



India's concerns over the role and relevance of the UN in the light of developments in Iraq are also expected to be highlighted by Prime Minister Vajpayee in his address to the United Nations General Assembly and in talks with world leaders including US President George W Bush here.



Terrorism would be the focus of attention both in the debates in the high level segment and in the deliberations of General Assembly in different committees and India would persist in its endeavours to strengthen activities within the UN in the fight of the international community against the menace. Vajpayee is scheduled to address the assembly today.



"We shall continue to emphasise that there can be no exceptions on ideological, political or religious or any other grounds in condemning terrorism or countering it. The approach should be truly global and not selective, sustained and not short-term," Indian officials said.


Bureau Report