Mumbai: On the first day of his three-day visit to India, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Wednesday paid respect to the victims of the 26/11 terrorist attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai.
Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, and Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister, were present when Mr Guterres laid a floral wreath at the hotel's 26/11 attacks memorial.
The U.N. chief is making his first trip to India since the start of his second term in office in January. In October 2018 during his first tenure in the position of power, he had previously travelled to the nation.
On Wednesday, shortly after midnight, Mr Guterres arrived in Mumbai after departing from London on a commercial flight. Senior Maharashtra government officials welcomed him when he arrived.
Later, he took a car to the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in south Mumbai to pay respects to those lost in the terrorist attacks of November 26.
One of the horrifying 26/11 terrorist strikes' targets in 2008 was the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.
Later in the day, before departing to Gujarat, Mr Guterres will give a public speech at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, on the topic "India @75: UN-India Partnership: Strengthening South-South Cooperation."
On October 20 in Gujarat's Kevadiya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be joined by the U.N. secretary-general at a gathering related to the Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) initiative.
The U.N. Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee's two-day meeting in India is less than a week away, and his travel to the nation comes before that event.
S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, will have bilateral talks with Guterres about world issues and ways to strengthen India's engagement with the UN, especially through the nation's future G20 presidency.
According to the MEA, Mr Guterres would likely leave floral tributes at the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya and also visit other nearby development projects in addition to the nation's first solar-powered community in Modhera (Gujarat).
Before leaving Mumbai for Singapore late on Thursday night, the U.N. secretary-general will also visit the Sun Temple in Modhera, according to an official.
With PTI inputs