At the 208th WFUNA ExCo in New York

April 25, New York: From today noon the World Federation of United Nation Association's (WFUNA) 208^th Executive Committee meeting will begin at the UNA-USA's office. I am in New York to primarily attend this meeting. The executive committee (ExCo) meeting will be preceded by a finance commitee meeting. This meeting is important for me since I am the current treasurer of WFUNA and also because I had missed out on the last meeting.

On Wednesday, I was in the UN building. I met a few people including Mr Harman Preet Singh, an IPS officer from Kolkata, who is at present working as the Integrated Operations Team for Africa Department of Peacekeeping Operations UNHQ, New York, and is responsible for Sudan, Syria and Africa. I had a long chat with him regarding the present situation over there and also about his last trip.

On Wednesday, I dropped in at the Indigo restaurant near UN office for lunch. The restaurant's lunch buffet had nothing great to offer for a vegetarian like myself and I was quite disappointed. So I decided to go to another restaurant called Utsav in the evening at the Times Square where food and the service was good.

On Thursday, I had a luncheon meeting with United Nation Association (UNA) colleagues at Tulsi - my all-time favourite Indian restaurant in New York city. Chef Hemant Mathur was there in action to delight us with his lasooni panner tikka.

Besides three other meetings, I also met Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji, the present Permanent Representative of India to the UN, at the Indian Mission at 43^rd Street. Mr Mukerji was full of warmth and we had a good meeting and discussed few issues pertaining to the activities and role of WFUNA. Mr Prakash Gupta, First Secretary of the Mission, was also there in the meeting.

I will leave for United Nations Foundations office where WFUNA ExCo will take place from noon.

ess bee