Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry kicked off Sunday an official visit to New York to participate in the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Aboul Gheit is scheduled to take part in several high-level international meetings that would tackle topics that fall within the priorities of joint Arab action in various political, economic and social fields, said an official source in the Arab League General Secretariat.
These include the virtual summit called by US President Joe Biden on the coronavirus pandemic, the source said.
He will also participate in the Interactive Informal Dialogue called by Tunisia, which is the current Arab member of the Security Council. The meeting will take place between UN Security Council members and their counterparts from the League to discuss the developments in the Arab region and means to develop cooperation ties between the League and the Council in the field of maintaining international peace and security and enhancing regional stability.
Among other meetings are the ministerial meeting on Libya, and another meeting to follow up on the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership held on August 28 in the Iraqi capital, and the ministerial dinner on the Middle East.
Aboul Gheit will hold talks with prominent regional and international figures, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UN Assembly President Abdulla Shahid, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Dr. Nayef al-Hajraf and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Chief Filippo Grandi.
According to Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez, Shoukry will participate in several meetings to present his country’s vision and stances towards current issues and the situation in the region.
He is also expected to discuss means of supporting the pillars of peace and security at the international and regional levels, as well as mechanisms for enhancing multilateral action on the issues listed in the agenda of the Assembly’s High-level General Debate.
Shoukry will meet on the sidelines of his visit with several UN senior officials and other leaders of international and regional organizations, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Union for the Mediterranean.
During his visit to New York, the Foreign Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with his participating counterparts to discuss bilateral cooperation and hold consultations on the most pressing regional and international issues, and to discuss the means to coordinate and address common challenges.