The 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly will kick off its high-level week with leaders from more than 100 countries expected to participate. Held in one of the pandemic’s hardest-hit cities, New York, the summit will be a departure from last year’s all-virtual version.
President Joe Biden of the United States, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro are among the heads of state who are expected to attend the summit. from September 20 to 27.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as France’s Emmanuel Macron and Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi are among the leaders who are not going to show up.
The following are the major issues that are expected to dominate discussions at the UN this year:
Climate crisis:
In the run-up to November’s major climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, some 40 world leaders will attend a confidential meeting on climate change co-chaired by Guterres and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
COVID-19 vaccinations:
On Wednesday, Biden will host a virtual summit focused on taking tangible steps to stop the pandemic.
As many countries struggle to procure vaccines, Biden plans to call on world leaders through a virtual summit on Wednesday. The summit will focus on giving one billion COVID-19 vaccines as a group, to inoculate 70% of the world in the following year. The US will also call for the contribution and delivery of one billion test kits by 2022, as well as an acceleration of a previously stated pledge of 2 billion doses, referred to as “draught targets” in the text.
Afghanistan:
In a meeting on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, China, and France — are likely to discuss Afghanistan.
Quad Alliance:
The leaders of three of America’s closest Asian friends, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, will travel to Washington on Friday for the Quad bloc’s first in-person meeting. The Indo-Pacific alliance is largely viewed as an attempt to present a united face against China’s regional ambitions, and the gathering is expected to draw Beijing’s ire.
