Buhari to lead Nigerian delegation to UN General Assembly

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to lead Nigerian delegation to the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama has said.

The 73rd UNGA will commence on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States while the General Debate will hold from September 25 - October1, 2018.

The theme for this year’s General Assembly is “Making the United Nations relevant to all People: Global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies”.

Briefing newsmen Tuesday in Abuja, Onyeama disclosed that President Buhari has been scheduled to speak in the late afternoon of the first day of the General Debate.

The minister said the 73rd UN General Assembly would avail Nigeria and other Member States of the UN the opportunity to engage, interface and share best practices towards reaching common understanding and consensus on key issues of global significance.

The session, he said, is expected to spotlight a wide range of issues: including, but not limited to, eradication of extreme poverty, maintenance of international peace and security, human rights issues, highlights on humanitarian activities, tackling climate change and promoting environmental sustainability.

Onyeama listed some of the key high-level meetings Buhari has been invited to participate to include, Mandela Peace Summit in honour of the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela (Sept 24); Meeting on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Sept 24); World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit (Sept 24 - 25) and Action for Peace Keeping (Sept 25).

Others are: AU meeting on winning the Fight against corruption (Sept 25); Forum on Africa Investment Summit (Sept 26); Commemoration and Promotion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (Sept 26); Meeting on the fight against Tuberculosis (Sept 26); Meeting on the Comprehensive Review of the progress achieved in the prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Sept 27 and high Level event on the 10+1 Malaria Initiative (10 African Countries + India.) Sept 27.