The 76th UN General Assembly’s high-level segment, General Debate will begin from today, September 21 and will run till September 27, 2021. The week-long segment will see many top speakers including US President, China’s Premier and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping will address the world leaders today, PM Narendra Modi will address the forum on September 25th. This will be US President Joe Biden’s first address to the 193-member General Assembly as the US President.
UNGA General Debate 2021 themeThe UNGA General Debate theme for this year is ‘Building Resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations’. |
UNGA taking place in hybrid format
The 76th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) is taking place in a hybrid format under the Presidency of Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid. The world leaders were given the option of attending in person or sending pre-recorded statements.
As per the second provisional list of speakers, around 109 heads of state and government will address the UNGA General Debate in person and around 60 will deliver their speeches through pre-recorded video statements.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit the United States later this year, is among the 109 heads of state who will address the General Debate in person. US President Joe Biden will also be addressing the General Debate in person today, while Xi Jinping is scheduled to deliver his address virtually.
Other world leaders who are expected to address the session in person include Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
UNGA General Debate 2021 Schedule
The week-long General Debate will provide all 193 member states with a platform to address the UN body. The General Debate will run in two parts each day- morning session (9:00 am-2.45 pm) and afternoon session (3 pm-9 pm). The week-long General Debate will see the physical participation of several world leaders.
Check out General Debate’s full schedule here:
September 21
Morning Session (9 am onwards)
Jair Messias Bolsonaro, President, Federative Republic of Brazil
Joseph Biden, President, United States of America
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President, Republic of Maldives
Iván Duque Márquez, President, Republic of Colombia
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir, State of Qatar
Zuzana Čaputová, President, Slovak Republic (pre-recorded)
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President, Portuguese Republic
Sadyr Zhaparov, President, Kyrgyz Republic (pre-recorded)
Gitanas Nausėda, President, Republic of Lithuania
Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President, the Republic of Uzbekistan (pre-recorded)
Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, President, the Islamic Republic of Iran (pre-recorded)
Sebastián Piñera Echenique, President, Republic of Chile (pre-recorded)
Moon Jae-in, President, Republic of Korea
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President, Republic of Turkey
Guy Parmelin, President, Swiss Confederation
Xi Jinping, President, the People’s Republic of China (pre-recorded)
Afternoon session (3pm onwards)
Zoran Milanović, President, Republic of Croatia
Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, President, Arab Republic of Egypt (pre-recorded)
Pedro Castillo Terrones, President, Republic of Peru
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President, Turkmenistan (pre-recorded)
Sauli Niinistö, President, Republic of Finland
Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President, the Republic of the Philippines (pre-recorded)
Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda (pre-recorded)
Alberto Fernández, President, Argentine Republic (pre-recorded)
Surangel Whipps, President, Republic of Palau
Klaus Werner Iohannis, President, Romania
Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President, Republic of Costa Rica
Andrzej Duda, President, Republic of Poland
Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, Constitutional President, Republic of Ecuador
Egils Levits, President, Republic of Latvia
Rumen Radev, President, Republic of Bulgaria (pre-recorded)
Hakainde Hichilema, President, Republic of Zambia
János Áder, President, Hungary
Faustin Archange Touadera, Head of State, Central African Republic
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo, President, Federal Republic of Somalia (pre-recorded)
September 22
Morning Session
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jordan, Monaco, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Guatemala, Marshall Islands, Republic of Moldova, Uruguay, Estonia, Suriname, Sierra Leone
Afternoon
Venezuela, Mongolia, Kenya, Honduras, Indonesia, Ukraine, Malawi, Cabo Verde, Vietnam, Togo, Mozambique, Dominican Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti, Central African Republic, Somalia
September 23
Morning
South Africa, Guyana, Botswana, Cuba, Angola, Burkina Faso, Panama, Montenegro, Namibia, Morocco, North Macedonia, Cameroon, Nauru, Zimbabwe, Chad, Comoros, Gabon, Tanzania, Liberia.
Afternoon
Micronesia, Burundi, Benin, Bolivia, Rwanda, Tajikistan, Uganda, Azerbaijan, Libya, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, Kiribati, Dominica, Seychelles, Kazakhstan, Israel, Seychelles
September 24
Morning
Cyprus, Nigeria, Lebanon, Senegal, Nicaragua, Germany, Slovenia, State of Palestine, European Union, Gambia, Armenia, Mauritius, Sweden, Barbados, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Japan, Malta, Ireland
Afternoon
Albania, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Luxembourg, Greece, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Georgia. Australia, Kuwait, Serbia, Trinidad and Tobago, Denmark, Jamaica, Norway, Italy, Lesotho, Belize,
September 25
Morning
Prime Minister Narendra Modi – India
Nepal, Saint Lucia, Andorra, Canada, eSwatini, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti, Malaysia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Sudan, Cambodia, Fiji, Bhutan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Belgium, Bahamas, Thailand, Iraq,
Afternoon
Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Antigua and Barbuda, Solomon Islands, Congo, Tonga, Mali, Holy See, China, Ethiopia, Russian Federation, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Austria
September 27
Morning
Singapore, Belarus, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iceland, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Grenada, Eritrea, Bahrain, San Marino, Oman, Sao Tome and Principe, Paraguay, Cote d’Ivoire, Timor Leste, Brunei, Mauritania, Niger
Afternoon
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Guinea, Afghanistan
Background
The landmark 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) had taken place virtually due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. All the world leaders had submitted pre-recorded video statements. It was the first time in the UN’s history that the annual gathering was held in a virtual mode.