Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will head to New York Thursday following Eid prayers to attend the 70th UN General Assembly.
El-Sisi is expected to give a speech at the UN, whose assembly is due to Friday, addressing topics including developments in the political and economic situation in Egypt, as well as Cairo’s position towards regional issues in the Middle East, according to government spokesperson Hossam Al-Qawish.
The president will emphasise Egypt's vision of the fight against terrorism. The speech will also suggest new ideas and initiatives concerning global security and stability.
Al-Qawish also said that the first day of the visit will be spent in the UN assembly, which this year will adopt a developmental agenda post-2015.
About 150 heads of states and top officials are expected to attend the three-day session.
Member states decided that the UN summit on the adoption of a new sustainable development agenda, with 17 goals, will be held 25-27 September in New York and convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly.
The United Nations is in the process of defining a post-2015 development agenda. On Friday, 193 world leaders are due to commit to 17 goals to be achieved in the next 15 years, including ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality and injustice, and addressing climate change.
Qawish added that El-Sisi’s speech will address the developmental agenda for 2015-2030 and the goals that Egypt contributed in formulating.
El-Sisi’s visit to New York will be his second following his participation in the 69th UN General Assembly last year. El-Sisi's speech last year concentrated on Egypt’s fight against terrorism, peace talks and global developmental goals.
This year, the Egyptian president heads a committee that gathers heads of African states and governments concerned with climate change issues. This chairmanship is on a rotational basis.
Egypt will give attention to issues of climate change and the importance of shared responsibility between developed and developing countries.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian president held a telephone conversation Tuesday with French President Francois Hollande, during which the two exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues that will be discussed during the UN assembly.
The two presidents stressed the importance of achieving peace in the Middle East, and the positive impact this would have on global security and the international economic situation.
Middle East conflicts, migration issues and the fight against terrorism are expected to be the issues dominating the various meetings to be held on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is to convene a special meeting concerning the current immigration crisis on 30 September.
