Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif is participating in the formal opening ceremony of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi.
The Prime Minister will also participate in a special summit of Arab and Islamic countries hosted by the United States and Qatar. The Prime Minister has been specially invited to attend the summit, which will also be attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Shehbaz Sharif will also hold meetings with Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker, Kuwait's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
Additionally, the Prime Minister will attend and deliver a speech at the high-level meeting of the Global Development Initiative.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to raise Palestine and Kashmir issues when he joins the world leaders at the opening ceremony of the United Nations General Assembly, as the 193-member world body starts its 80th session today.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who arrived in New York late Monday night mainly to attend the UNGA session, will also attend a special summit of Arab and Islamic countries, co-hosted by the United States and Qatar. The prime minister has been specially invited to participate in the summit, which will also be attended by US President Donald Trump.
During the day, he will hold meetings with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, Kuwait’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
Shehbaz Sharif will also participate and address the high-level meeting of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) on the theme “Recommit to our Original Aspirations, United to Build a Brighter Future of Global Development”.
Meanwhile, the White House has confirmed President Trump’s multilateral meeting with the leaders of eight Muslim majority countries, including Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will represent Pakistan at the meeting.
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Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt did not specify the meeting’s agenda, but sources indicated that the Israeli war in Gaza would be the dominant topic.
She told reporters that Trump will depart the US capital Monday evening for New York ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly session, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump.
Before Tuesday’s multilateral meeting, Trump will address the UN General Assembly, speaking to the “renewal of American strength around the world”, while calling out “globalist institutions that have significantly decayed the world order,” while offering “his straightforward and constructive vision for the world,” Leavitt says.
On Tuesday evening, Trump will host a reception for more than 100 world leaders before returning to DC, where he will host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Leavitt adds.