NEW YORK: World leaders are convening this week in New York for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), with discussions expected to focus on conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
The annual gathering officially opened on 9 September, with the high-level general debate beginning Tuesday at UN headquarters in Manhattan. By tradition, Brazil speaks first, followed by the United States, the host country. The sequence of other speakers is determined by a complex algorithm.
The assembly comes amid heightened international tensions. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, denied a US visa, will address the session via video link, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in New York on Monday to participate in the debate and hold bilateral meetings.
Several major powers are sending delegations rather than heads of state. Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, while China sends Premier Li Qiang instead of President Xi Jinping. India is represented by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who has already held meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, EU foreign ministers, and US Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor.
In a historic first since 1967, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will address the assembly. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will also attend following Tehran’s suspension of cooperation with the IAEA, and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani is present after recent Israeli attacks on his country.
This year’s theme, “Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development and Human Rights,” emphasizes unity amid global divisions. Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s former foreign minister and president of the 80th session, described the gathering as a critical moment for international cooperation, saying, “To preserve what the UN has achieved since 1945… To make us, the UN, fit for the future, fit for purpose. Better Together!”
The assembly will test whether an organization founded in the aftermath of world war can foster cooperation in an era of multiple simultaneous crises.
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