Image: U.S. Department of State
World leaders are gathering in New York for the 81st U.N. General Assembly, with wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, climate change and the risks of artificial intelligence expected to dominate discussions.
About 130 heads of state and government are expected to speak alongside dozens of ministers during the general debate, which runs from Sept. 22 to 28.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will deliver his final annual opening address before his second term ends on Dec. 31.
“International cooperation is more necessary than ever,” he said ahead of the gathering, identifying uncontrolled AI development, climate change and widening inequality as existential threats.
U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are among the opening-day speakers.
Erdoğan is scheduled to speak fourth among national leaders, after the representatives of Brazil, the United States and Jordan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are scheduled to address the assembly on Sept. 23. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak the following day.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will also address the assembly on Sept. 24, appearing by video after Washington denied him a visa for a second consecutive year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend, although he is expected to meet Trump in Washington during the week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also staying away, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov due to address the assembly on Sept. 26.
The wars in Gaza, Iran, Ukraine and Sudan will feature prominently in diplomatic meetings, alongside shipping security in the Strait of Hormuz and crises in Yemen, Myanmar and Haiti.
The Security Council is scheduled to hold separate high-level meetings on Ukraine and AI on Sept. 23, with Zelensky attending the Ukraine session.
AI safety has gained attention following calls by industry leaders to slow development.
Guterres has urged governments to coordinate their response, warning that national measures alone cannot address risks that cross borders.
Climate targets, development financing, pandemic preparedness, nuclear disarmament and rising sea levels are also on the week’s agenda.
The gathering will address the U.N.’s own financial difficulties and efforts to reform its institutions, including the Security Council, where the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France hold veto power.
Washington recently paid $725 million toward the U.N.’s regular budget, removing the risk of losing its General Assembly vote in 2027.
It still owed $1.312 billion to that budget, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said on Sept. 16.
New York authorities have increased security and restricted traffic around U.N. headquarters.
Temporary flight restrictions, including a ban on unauthorized drones, are in place around the complex through Sept. 26.
