A delegation of the Czech Republic led by President Petr Pavl will take part on September 17-22 in the high-level week within the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský will also be a member of the delegation.
The goal is to present the Czech Republic as a reliable partner in the world that supports the reform efforts of the UN towards effective multilateralism in the 21st century. The main theme of the high-level week, which will be attended by the heads of the UN member states, will be the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Throughout the negotiations, the Czech Republic will advocate for the support of Ukraine and the punishment of Russia for launching a war against Ukraine. Other important topics will be climate change, UN reform, respect for rights in the digital environment or international cooperation in response to pandemics.
In this context, the speeches of the President of the Republic in the general debate of the UN General Assembly, at the Summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Summit) and at the open meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Ukraine will be crucial.
The presence of senior statesmen will be used by the president and the minister of foreign affairs to meet with a wide range of bilateral partners and representatives of international organizations. Among other things, the topics of the meeting will be the sharing of the Czech position on Russian aggression in Ukraine and the presentation of the newly announced Czech candidacy for the UN Security Council for the period 2032-33.
Last but not least, the negotiations will be an opportunity to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s membership in the United Nations as the successor state of Czechoslovakia, which was one of the co-founders of this organization. On this occasion, a gala dinner will be held in the Czech National Building in New York on September 20 under the auspices of President Petr Pavel and Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová.
Among the most important events, Mr. President will actively participate in the following: The SDG Summit will take place on 18-19 September. It is the flagship event of the week at a high level. Its goal is to mobilize support for achieving the goals of sustainable development. Performance is expected at the level of heads of state and government. The Czech President will speak on the morning of September 18 on behalf of the Pathfinders group of states (a group of 46 countries promoting the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal No. 16 – peace, justice and strong institutions). With its active participation, the Czech Republic shows the importance of achieving the goals of sustainable development, even in the light of the complicated security and economic environment.
The opening of the general debate of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly will take place on 19 September. The President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago), chose the topic “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable” for the general debate Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all”. The heads of delegations of all states will speak in the debate. The President of the Republic will deliver a national speech on the first day of the general debate on September 19.
During the high-level week, an open debate of the UN Security Council on the situation in Ukraine is also convened on September 20. The debate will be led by the prime minister of Albania, which will chair the UN Security Council in September, and a number of world statesmen will speak at it. Ukraine is to be represented at the level of President V. Zelensky. The President of the Republic will speak for the Czech Republic.