The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva travels this Sunday (the 20th) to New York, United States (USA), where he will participate in the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
In the traditional opening speech in the high-level segment of the assembly, the president is expected to stress the importance of multilateralism, one of the central strands of Brazil’s foreign policy, in a context marked by the multiplication of international conflicts.
Lula should also advocate negotiation as a path to dispute resolution, respect for international humanitarian law, and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. The speech will present Brazil’s view on the main topics on the international agenda.
The reform of the United Nations, particularly its Security Council, should be among the topics addressed. Brazil has long advocated updating the body’s composition and functioning, and criticizes its difficulty in responding to international conflicts.
Lula will have bilateral meetings with other heads of state, which have not yet been announced, in addition to meeting with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who is in the final stages of his term leading the international organization. One of Lula’s planned meetings will be with the city’s mayor, the progressive Zohran Mamdani, of the Democratic Party, who has been governing New York since the beginning of the year.
The presidential schedule in New York foresees arrival in the city late on Sunday night (the 20th), with bilateral meetings set to take place throughout Monday (the 21st). On Tuesday morning (the 22nd), the president will meet with Guterres and then deliver the General Assembly speech. He will return to Brazil on the same day.
This will be Lula’s 11th participation in the United Nations General Assembly as president of the Republic. In his three terms, he has only missed it in 2010.
Trump
The Itamaraty Palace did not provide information about the expectation of a meeting between Lula and the U.S. president, Donald Trump, which has not been confirmed by either side.
The American president is the second to speak, right after Lula, and both could potentially cross paths backstage in the plenary hall. Last year, the two leaders had a brief contact when Lula was leaving the stage after his speech and Trump was preparing to speak.
On that occasion, the encounter left a good impression on both presidents, and Trump later spoke of an “excellent chemistry” between them. It was the first of three meetings between the two leaders since then.
Outras agendas
According to Itamaraty, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will remain in New York throughout the week and will participate in a series of ministerial meetings and gatherings, including those of BRICS, the India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBAS), the G77, the G4, the L69 and the Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries (CPLP), in addition to meetings of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Brasília Consensus.
The minister will also chair two ministerial meetings. On September 23, the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty meeting will be held, an initiative launched by Brazil during its presidency of the G20. On the 24th, Mauro Vieira will chair the ministerial meeting of the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS).
Brazil currently holds the presidency of ZOPACAS, after the 9th Ministerial Meeting of the organization was held in April this year. The country will hold the presidency for a three-year term.
The Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Combatting Hunger, Wellington Dias, co-chair of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, will also participate in activities in New York between September 21 and 23, with agendas related to food security, social protection, development financing and international cooperation. On the 23rd, he will participate in the Global Alliance meeting.
The Brazilian delegation will participate in meetings of the United Nations Security Council and meetings on the Palestinian situation and the two-state solution, the fight against inequality, the Peacebuilding Commission and topics related to international humanitarian law.
Comitiva
In addition to ministers Mauro Vieira and Wellington Dias, there are planned participations by the Minister of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Esther Dweck; the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Luiz Eloy Terena; and the Minister of Racial Equality, Rachel Barros, in activities related to the areas of responsibility of each ministry.
