- World Leaders, Eggheads Converge On NYC As UNGA Gets Underway Today
The 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) officially opens today, 14th September, 2021, with Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari and his US counterpart, Joe Biden among world leaders billed to address the assembly in person, The New Diplomat reports.
President Buhari is expected to depart the country for New York City this weekend as the UN General Debate — the main event– starts on Tuesday, 21st of September.
The UNGA serves as the main deliberative and policy-making meeting of the UN, addressing complex world issues as well as the challenges facing individual members.
The General Debate remains the UN’s most prominent annual event, with world leaders and heads of government typically converging on the organisation’s New York City headquarters for nine days of speeches and meetings.
The New Diplomat‘s checks show that the theme for the 76th session is “Building Resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations.”
The General Assembly will kickstart with the inauguration of Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives as the President of UNGA, replacing outgoing President Volkan Bozkir of Turkey.
Shahid won the Presidency of the 76th Session of the UNGA which held on 7 June 2021.
The most anticipated event, the General Debate is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, 21 September 2021.
The UN High-level Dialogue on Energy will hold on 24 September, while the UN Food Systems Summit, will hold on 23 September, and will discuss ways to set the stage for global food systems transformation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Also, during the course of the session, world leaders will address matters of international peace and security including debate on matters of human rights, international law, and cooperation in economic, social, cultural, educational, and health fields.
The UN had chosen 83 heads of state or government or other top representatives to speak in person in a series of speeches that begin on September 21 while another 23 have applied to deliver pre-recorded speeches.
Among world leaders who will deliver speeches at the General Assembly are US President Joe Biden, who is expected to deliver his remarks on September 21; Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari; Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will be there mainly to inaugurate Turkey’s newly renovated mission to the UN.
Also, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will deliver a speech on Saturday, September 25; while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan will deliver his speech in an already pre-recorded video on September 24.
Moldova’s first female President, Maia Sandu, will also be present at the General Assembly.
Leaders of Brazil, Britain, Canada, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey and Venezuela are also expected to deliver their speeches during the second week of the assembly.
