UNITED NATIONS, Aug 21 : Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to address the United Nations General Assembly’s annual General Debate on September 26, according to a provisional list of speakers released by the U.N. on Tuesday.
The high-level debate of the 193-member’s Assembly’s 79th session will take place from September 24 to 30.
It will be the second time Prime Minister Sharif will deliver a speech to the General Assembly — the UN’s main policy-making organ — he last addressed it in 2022.
More than 130 world leaders have so far confirmed their participation the debate, according to Monica Greylay, the spokesperson for the UN General Assembly.
They will be addressing international peace and security issues.
The provisional list of speakers issued by the UN is not final; the UN regularly updates it in the weeks leading up to the session to account for any changes in attendance, schedules, and speaking slots of leaders, ministers and ambassadors.
The Assembly’s 79th session, which actually opens on September 10, will be meeting amid heightening tensions in the world with several active conflicts, including in Palestine, Ukraine and the Sudan. But the Assembly’s heavy agenda also aims to set the stage for building a new global development framework which both protects the planet and promotes equity, justice and prosperity for all people.
Brazil, which traditionally opens the debate, will commence the high-level session on September 24.
This will be followed by the United States, the host country, with President Joe Biden delivering his final address of his presidency to global leaders from the iconic UN General Assembly hall.
Ahead of the session, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will present his report on the Work of the Organization covering the events in the preceding year.
Guterres is also convening the ambitious Summit of the Future at UN Headquarters during the high-level week. The summit is scheduled for September 22-23.
It is expected to adopt the Pact for the Future, which will include a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations as annexes. The UN described the Summit as a high-level event aimed at forging a new international consensus on delivering a better present and safeguarding the future.
“Effective global cooperation is increasingly critical to our survival but difficult to achieve in an atmosphere of mistrust, using outdated structures that no longer reflect today’s political and economic realities,” according to the UN.
Other key meetings scheduled are: High-level plenary meeting on addressing the existential threats posed by sea level rise: Wednesday, 25 September;
High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: Thursday, 26 September; and High-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance: Thursday, 26 September.
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