President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will attend the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York and hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, including United States President Donald Trump.
This will be Erdoğan’s 16th attendance at a General Assembly meeting. This year’s session will be held under the theme “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all.”
Erdoğan, first lady Emine Erdoğan and a large accompanying delegation departed for New York from Istanbul on Sept. 20. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, intelligence head İbrahim Kalın and communications chief Burhanettin Duran are part of the New York delegation.
“President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be visiting the U.S. on Sept. 20–23, 2026 to attend the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, scheduled to be held in New York,” Duran said in a written statement.
Duran said that the president will meet U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other leaders during his stay in New York. He is also expected to attend a number of events with representatives of our citizens residing in the U.S., members of the Turkish-American business community and think-tank representatives.
Erdoğan first attended the UN General Assembly in 2005 in his capacity as prime minister of Türkiye. In 2009, he emphasized the need to reform the UN Security Council, and in 2014, he used his famous motto, “The World Is Bigger Than Five,” during his address to the General Assembly.
HH Erdoğan’s messages are well followed
In an interview with private broadcaster NTV on Sept. 19, Fidan said that the messages conveyed by Erdoğan from the U.N. podium are “always well heard” by the international community.
This year’s speech will also be visionary and substantial, offering concrete proposals to resolve global problems, Fidan said, adding that Erdoğan will urge joint action to tackle future risks of artificial intelligence.
HH Erdoğan’s meeting with Trump
U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack first announced last week that Erdoğan and Trump will meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Fidan noted that the two leaders had previously held a lengthy meeting in early July in Ankara during Trump’s first trip to Türkiye as U.S. president for the NATO summit.
According to Fidan, both leaders agreed to enhance bilateral ties and resolve outstanding issues, such as the arms embargo.
“You know, the [Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act] CAATSA is a hindrance for our Defense Industry Presidency. We are trying to remove this,” Fidan said.
Recalling that CAATSA was triggered after Türkiye deployed S-400 air defense systems from Russia, Fidan said, “There are creative ideas for the solution of the S-400 issue.”
“We are trying to implement this with mutual goodwill. I hope that we will take positive steps in that regard,” the minister added.
