New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a yoga session for the first time at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, US on June 21, reported PTI. The event will mark the 9th edition of the International Day of Yoga to be celebrated on June 21. The Indian-American community is also preparing for a cultural extravaganza for PM Modi on his arrival in the American Capital from New York City after leading the yoga session. The UN had proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga in December 2014. The occasion aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practising yoga. Prime Minister Modi is visiting the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. They will host Modi at a state dinner on June 22. The visit also includes an address to the Joint Session of the Congress on June 22.
“On the occasion of the 9th International Day of Yoga, the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations cordially invites you to join a Yoga session led by H. E. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi,” an advisory for the event said, reported PTI.
In a historic moment, nine years after Prime Minister Modi first proposed from the UN General Assembly podium to mark International Yoga Day as an annual commemoration, the Indian leader will for the first time be at the UN Headquarters to lead the yoga session. As per PTI, the session will run from 8 am – 9 am on June 21 at the expansive North Lawn in the UN Headquarters. A bust of Mahatma Gandhi, a gift from India to the UN, was installed here in December last year during the country’s Presidency of the UN Security Council.
Top UN officials, ambassadors, envoys, delegates from Member States as well as prominent members of the global and diaspora community are expected to attend the historic occasion. The advisory encourages guests and attendees to wear Yoga-friendly attire for the special session and added that Yoga mats will be provided during the session, the report said.
