Trump speaks first day, Pezeshkian second; high-level contact between the two watched closely

Lee delivers keynote Tuesday; Zelensky, Netanyahu among leaders attending

Altman joins AI cooperation talks; behind-the-scenes race for next UN chief heats up

US President Donald Trump gestures to the audience after delivering his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. [AFP]
US President Donald Trump gestures to the audience after delivering his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. [AFP]

World leaders, including the heads of state of the United States and Iran, are converging on New York as the two countries remain at war. With US President Donald Trump having signaled openness to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian even as he has raised the prospect of a large-scale attack on Iran, all eyes are on whether a leader-level contact between the warring nations can be arranged on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

According to the UN headquarters Sunday (local time), the 81st UN General Assembly high-level general debate will be held at UN headquarters in New York from Tuesday through Sept. 28. The theme of this year's assembly is "Restoring Trust, Reinventing the Future: Delivering for All."

The session convenes at a moment of acute global insecurity, with the Russia-Ukraine war and fighting in Gaza grinding on and the US-Iran conflict adding a new front. World leaders are expected to engage in intense diplomatic maneuvering over ending the wars, restoring international order and strengthening multilateralism.

The sharp deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, combined with growing criticism that the UN Security Council has failed to fulfill its role in international conflicts, is also expected to put the question of UN reform squarely on the agenda.

Following a tradition dating to 1955, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will open the general debate as the first speaker Tuesday.

Trump will take the podium second, as the leader of the host country. He is expected to reaffirm his "America First" and "peace through strength" positions and call for UN reform.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is also scheduled to deliver his keynote address that afternoon.

The movements of the leaders of the warring nations are drawing the most attention at this year's assembly.

Pezeshkian and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are set to speak Wednesday. With Trump having addressed the assembly Sunday, the US and Iranian leaders will appear on the UN stage just one day apart.

Trump recently said he would "probably" be open to meeting Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the General Assembly. The remarks came even as he raised the option of "wiping out" Iran, ratcheting up military pressure while keeping the door open to negotiations. Whether the two leaders will meet face-to-face — or whether any leader-level contact will take place — has emerged as the central question of the week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak Thursday. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani raised the possibility of arresting Netanyahu during his visit, but Netanyahu dismissed the suggestion and reaffirmed his intention to attend.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will address the assembly by video link the same day, after the US government denied him a visa, preventing him from traveling to New York in person.

On the final day, Sept. 28, North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong will take the podium. As she did last year, Kim is expected to reaffirm Pyongyang's standing position that denuclearization is not up for discussion.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will again skip the gathering. Xi has not attended the General Assembly in person since 2015, when the UN marked its 70th anniversary.

AI is also a major theme at this year's assembly. The US will host a high-level meeting on AI cooperation Wednesday, chaired by US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and others. The session is expected to cover the policy, legal and regulatory environment needed for large-scale AI adoption, as well as freedom of expression issues.

The Security Council will hold a high-level open briefing on AI and international security the same day. Private-sector experts are also expected to participate and share their views, including Yoshua Bengio, a professor at the University of Montreal and co-chair of the UN's Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

A series of meetings on other global issues will also take place throughout the week. A high-level climate action meeting and a high-level event marking the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development are scheduled for Wednesday, followed by an informal Security Council-Arab League dialogue Thursday and a high-level pandemic preparedness meeting Friday.

The session is also the last high-level general debate to be held during the tenure of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Beyond the formal meeting rooms, bilateral talks among world leaders will be accompanied by behind-the-scenes diplomatic maneuvering over who will succeed Guterres as the next UN secretary-general.


sjy@heraldcorp.com