President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva leaves this Sunday (20) for New York, in the United States (USA), where he will participate in the 81st General Assembly of the United Nations (UN).
In the traditional opening speech in the high-level section of the assembly, the president must highlight the importance of multilateralism, one of the central lines of Brazilian foreign policy, in a scenario marked by the multiplication of international conflicts.
Lula must also defend negotiation as a way to resolve disputes, respect for international humanitarian law and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. The speech must present Brazil’s vision on the main themes on the international agenda.
The reform of the United Nations, in particular its Security Council, should be among the topics addressed. Brazil has been advocating for years to update the composition and functioning of the body and criticizes its difficulty in responding to international conflicts.
Lula will have bilateral meetings with other heads of state, which have not yet been announced, in addition to meeting with the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, who is in the final phase of his term as head of the international entity. One of Lula’s scheduled meetings will be with the city’s mayor, the progressive Zohran Mamdani, from the Democratic Party, who has governed New York since the beginning of the year.
The presidential agenda in New York foresees his arrival in the city on Sunday night (20), with bilateral meetings scheduled to take place throughout Monday (21). On Tuesday (22) morning, the president will meet with Guterres and then give a speech to the General Assembly. He returns to Brazil on the same day.
This will be Lula’s 11th participation in the United Nations General Assembly as president of the Republic. In his three terms, he only failed to appear in 2010.
Trump
The Itamaraty Palace did not inform about the expectation of a meeting between Lula and US President Donald Trump, which has not been confirmed by either party.
The American president is the second to speak, right after Lula, and both could eventually cross paths behind the scenes of the plenary. Last year, the two leaders had a brief contact, when Lula left the stage after his speech and Trump was preparing to speak.
At the time, the meeting made a good impression on both presidents and Trump later spoke of “excellent chemistry” between them. It was the first of three meetings between the two leaders since then.
Other agendas
According to Itamaraty, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, will remain in New York throughout the week and will participate in a series of meetings and ministerial meetings, including those of Brics, the India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA), the G77, the G4, the L69 and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), in addition to meetings of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the Brasília Consensus.
The minister will also preside over two ministerial meetings. On September 23, the meeting of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty will be held, an initiative launched by Brazil during the Brazilian presidency of the G20. On the 24th, Mauro Vieira will preside over the ministerial meeting of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (Zopacas).
Brazil currently holds the presidency of Zopacas, following the organization’s 9th Ministerial Meeting in April this year. The country will hold the presidency for a period of three years.
The Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Combating Hunger, Wellington Dias, co-president of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, will also participate in activities in New York between September 21st and 23rd, with agendas related to food security, social protection, financing for development and international cooperation. On the 23rd, he will participate in the Global Alliance meeting.
The Brazilian delegation will participate in meetings of the United Nations Security Council and meetings on the situation in Palestine and the two-State solution, the fight against inequality, the Peace Consolidation Commission and topics related to international humanitarian law.
Entourage
In addition to ministers Mauro Vieira and Wellington Dias, the participation of the minister of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Esther Dweck; the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Luiz Eloy Terena; and the Minister of Racial Equality, Rachel Barros, in activities related to the areas of activity of each department.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
