A slew of heads of state and government, 157, say they plan to attend the first fully face-to-face meeting of world leaders in September at the UN General Assembly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
The 104 heads of state inscribed on the provisional list of speakers come with US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, King Abdullah II of Jordan and the presidents of Iran, France, Brazil, Colombia, South Korea, South Africa, Egypt and Venezuela.
The 53 heads of government on the list arrive with the UK’s new prime minister yet to be chosen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the prime ministers of Japan, Israel, Iraq and Pakistan. China sends its deputy prime minister and Russia sends a minister, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who has represented the country in recent years.
The Palestinians are a NON-MEMBER State of the United Nations and their president, Mahmoud Abbas, is also on the list of speakers, as is the head of the Holy See, permanent observer of the United Nations.
In September 2020, the pandemic prevented world leaders from traveling to New York for their annual assembly for the first time in the 75-year history of the United Nations. Instead, pre-recorded speeches by the leaders were broadcast in the General Assembly Hall, presented through a single diplomat from the country.
Last September, the UN in a hybrid format, which allows world leaders to attend the annual in-user collection, or give pre-recorded speeches if COVID-19 restrictions prevent them from traveling, an option chosen by 72 leaders.
General Assembly spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak said Tuesday that pre-recorded speeches will not be allowed this year.
Despite the continuation of the pandemic, it is clear from the provisional list of speakers published on Monday night that more than 80% of the leaders of the 193 MEMBER COUNTRIES of the UN wish to cope with the annual collection of users and participate in many confidential meetings and conversations in which many foreign affairs take place.
This year, leaders and ministers will have to address new and troubling issues: the first primary European war in decades in Ukraine, a global food crisis that has left millions of people severely hungry and sparked fears of famine, high inflation and mounting food and energy costs, plus record heat in many parts of the world. indicating that much remains to be done to combat global warming.
There has been increasing pressure from leaders for an in-person meeting, but presidents, prime ministers and monarchs with gigantic delegations became a challenge last year in terms of the number of other people allowed to enter UN headquarters.
During the high-level weeks, there are thousands of other people on the UN compound and many side events, many of whom take a stand in front of UN barriers. It is not yet known if there will be restrictions on the number of people. other people allowed in the UN headquarters complex, or necessities for those entering.
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