New York: Europe and the Arabs
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, begins a tour of the Pacific and East Asia region, including visits to Samoa, New Zealand, Tonga, Timor-Leste, Singapore and China. These visits will focus on issues of climate change, sustainable development and strengthening international cooperation. According to the UN daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received this morning,
The spokesman for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said at the daily press briefing that Mr. Guterres will first travel to Samoa from 21 to 23 August, where he will meet with Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'a. He will then visit Auckland, New Zealand, briefly (23 and 24 August), where he will meet with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
From New Zealand, the Secretary-General will travel to Tonga from 24 to 27 August, where he will participate in the Pacific Islands Forum. He is expected to meet with Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Uvakivahafulau Suvalini, as well as other leaders attending the forum.
Stéphane Dujarric said the Secretary-General’s visit will also be an opportunity to highlight the impact of sea level rise in the region and beyond. The Secretary-General will engage with local communities and civil society representatives, including young people.
The Secretary-General will then travel to Timor-Leste from 28 to 31 August, where he will participate in the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the country’s popular consultations, organized by the United Nations.
From Timor-Leste, Mr. Guterres will travel to Singapore on 1 and 2 September, where he will meet with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Wong Lawrence.
The Secretary-General will then visit China, where he will, among other things, participate in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing, where he will highlight the importance of South-South cooperation to build solidarity and advance shared development goals. He will also meet with senior Chinese government officials.