MINSK, 20 September (BelTA) – Belarus Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei will take part in the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly which kicked off in New York on 17 September, Anatoly Glaz, Head of the Information and Digital Diplomacy Office, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the media on 20 September, BelTA has learned.
“The high-level General Debate featuring heads of state, heads of government and ministers of foreign affairs will start on 24 September to run through 30 September. The Belarusian delegation will be led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei,” Anatoly Glaz said.
Vladimir Makei's visit to New York is scheduled for 22-29 September. The Belarusian minister of foreign affairs is expected to take part in a number of high-level events. They will include the Political Forum on Sustainable Development, a meeting on the elimination of nuclear weapons and a high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Belarus will preside at the fifth ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends United against Human Trafficking. Attending the event will be officials of 23 states and the heads of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UN Women, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Vladimir Makei is expected to take part in traditional meetings of the ministers of foreign affairs of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Central European Initiative, the Non-Aligned Movement. A briefing will be held together with Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov on the results of the international conference on counter-terrorism in Minsk.
The Belarusian minister of foreign affairs together with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will open a photo exhibition to mark the 110th birthday of Andrei Gromyko. Vladimir Makei will also speak at the high-level meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the role of cooperation of the United Nations with regional organizations in strengthening peace and security.
As President of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, permanent representative of Nigeria to the United Nations Tijjani Muhammad-Bande said earlier, priority issues will include ending poverty and hunger, and also education and climate change.
On its first days the session will primarily highlight procedural matters, including the distribution of the agenda across the six main committees of the assembly. On 23 September, the UN secretary general will convene a Climate Summit, which main goal is to coordinate the main ways to implement the Paris Agreement. The major themes of the forthcoming summit will feature: energy transition, climate finance and carbon pricing, industry transition, nature-based solutions. On 24 September, speaking at the meeting will be 97 heads of state, five vice presidents, 46 heads of government and 38 ministers. At the start of the meeting the UN secretary general will present its annual report on the performance of the organization.
The General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. All Member States of the Organization are represented in the General Assembly. Decisions on the important issues such as peace and security or acceptance of new members require two third of votes. Decisions on other matters are taken by a simple majority.
