President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will participate in a number of important meetings while attending the UN general assembly in New York City from 20 to 30 September, said presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef.
Al-Sisi is expected to take part in the UN security council meeting on regional developments in the Middle East. The summit will focus on the Syrian conflict and the plight of refugees, and potential ways to contain the situation.
Youssef also said that Al-Sisi will head the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) summit, which will be held on the sidelines of the general assembly, to review the conflict in South Sudan.
Egypt is currently heading the PSC for one month during September. Its participation in the general assembly this year also comes during its non-permanent membership in the security council.
Besides holding an array of bilateral talks with participating country leaders, Al-Sisi will also participate in a special event held by the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to follow up on the outcomes of the Paris agreement on climate change, and preparations for the upcoming conference of the parties in Morocco.
In December 2015, more than 170 countries signed an agreement to keep the increase in temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. This November, country leaders will assemble once again in Morocco to discuss enforcement mechanisms of the Paris agreement.
The theme of this year’s UN general assembly session is “The Sustainable Development goals (SDG): a universal push to transform our world.”
During last year’s session, country leaders adopted a new development agenda for the SDG until 2030 with a wider range of goals that address new issues for the first time, including climate changes, life under water and mental health.
