UNITED NATIONS (AP) 鈥 The United Nations chief is going globetrotting to four major meetings before the biggest meeting of all 鈥 the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly starting Sept. 18.
Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres heads first to Nairobi on Saturday for the on Sept. 4-5, then to Jakarta for a U.N. summit with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN on Sept. 6-7.
From there, he flies to New Delhi for the G20 summit of the world鈥檚 20 major economies on Sept. 8-10 and then briefly returns to New York before heading to Havana for the summit of the G77 鈥 a coalition of some 134 developing countries and China 鈥 on Sept. 14-15.
He will arrive back in New York just before the General Assembly鈥檚 high-level week begins, where the is expected to dominate the annual meeting for a second year.
A very high number of heads of state and government 鈥 nearly 150 鈥 are scheduled to attend this year鈥檚 gathering of world leaders.
Albania鈥檚 U.N. Ambassador Ferit Hoxha, this month鈥檚 president of the U.N. Security Council, told reporters Friday he could 鈥渁lmost confirm鈥 that Ukraine鈥檚 President will attend the global gathering in person for the first time, and speak at a council meeting on Sept. 20 on upholding the U.N. Charter in Ukraine.
The high-level week starts with a summit to spur global action on the U.N.鈥檚 badly lagging development goals for 2030 on Sept. 18, a day ahead of the official opening of the General Debate 鈥 the official name of the world leaders' annual meeting.
It begins on Sept. 19 with Guterres鈥 annual report on and speaking to reporters Thursday he gave a preview of his concerns.
The secretary-general said the multiplicity of summits 鈥渞eflects the growing multipolarity of our world.鈥 But he stressed that having different power centers 鈥渄oes not guarantee peace and security.鈥
On the contrary, Guterres said, without strong global institutions 鈥渕ultipolarity could be a factor for escalating geostrategic tensions, with tragic consequences.鈥
Guterres said he will be delivering the same message to all the meetings he attends this month: Reforms are essential 鈥渢o bring our outdated multilateral institutions and frameworks in line with the economic and political realities of today鈥檚 world, based on equity and solidarity.鈥
As one example, Guterres has been campaigning for years to so that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank reflect 鈥渢he power and economic relations of today鈥檚 world鈥 not the ones of post-World War II when they were established.
At the Africa Climate Summit, the U.N. chief said he will address 鈥渢wo burning injustices of the climate crisis.鈥
First, African countries have contributed almost nothing to global warming 鈥渁nd yet they are on the frontlines of today鈥檚 super-charged storms, droughts and floods,鈥 Guterres said. Secondly, while Africa has abundant solar, wind, hydro power and critical minerals, its governments face high levels of debt and interest rates that impede their investments in renewable energy.
鈥淲e need global efforts to put Africa at the forefront of the renewables revolution,鈥 he said.
At the ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Guterres said he will be promoting the organization as a bridge-builder between east and west as well as its five-point plan and efforts to engage all parties in that ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
At the G20 summit in New Delhi, the secretary-general said he will tell the planet鈥檚 biggest emitters that 鈥渁s climate chaos gathers pace, the world is looking to them鈥 to accelerate their emissions reductions and support countries now paying the price for decades of heating caused by fossil fuels.
At the final summit in Havana of the G77, Guterres said he will focus on including ending extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring every child has a quality secondary education and achieving gender equality.
Looking ahead to the annual U.N. meeting of global leaders, Guterres stressed the importance of diplomacy 鈥渢o navigate the tensions of our emerging multipolar world.鈥
鈥淒ialogue remains the only way to find joint approaches and common solutions to the global threats and challenges that we face,鈥 he said.
