President Lula participates in UN General Assembly’s 79th opening session

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will undertake an official visit to New York September 21 to 25 to participate in the opening of the General Debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, along with other high-ranking government officials.

During the high-level week, President Lula will also take part in the Summit of the Future, the event "In Defence of Democracy: Fighting Against Extremism," the opening session of the second G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting and several bilateral meetings. The Brazilian delegation will engage in high-level discussions on critical issues, including strengthening multilateralism, reforming global governance, defending democracy and consolidating peace, among other key topics.

SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE – President Lula will arrive in New York on September 21. On Sunday, September 22, he will participate in the first session of the Summit of the Future, organized by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, where he will be the second speaker. The Summit, running from September 20 to 23, aims to address the future of global cooperation. A key outcome is the expected adoption of the Pact for the Future, a consensus-driven document outlining commitments to enhance and strengthen the multilateral system for the challenges ahead.

“The Pact for the Future aims to set the goals and commitments of UN members concerning the future of multilateralism. It includes topics such as sustainable development, international peace and security, science, technology and digital cooperation, youth and future generations, and the reform of global governance. Each of these topics corresponds to one of the chapters of the Pact,” said Ambassador Carlos Márcio Cozendey, secretary of Multilateral Political Affairs at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Ministério das Relações Exteriores/MRE] during a press briefing.

The Declaration for Future Generations and the Digital Global Compact will be adopted in parallel to the Pact for the Future, and linked to it. “What we can expect from the speeches is that they will somewhat follow the agenda that Brazil proposed for the G20 — that is, they will discuss inclusion and combating hunger, energy transition and global governance reform. These are the three major themes that will be present in these speeches,” said the ambassador.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY – On Tuesday, September 24, following tradition, President Lula will be the first head of state to address the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), after opening remarks by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Philémon Yang, President of the 79th UNGA. This year’s General Debate has the theme “Unity in diversity for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for all, everywhere.” In addition to his participation at UN events, President Lula is also expected to engage in several bilateral meetings with other world leaders.

Also on September 24, President Lula will co-chair the roundtable “In defense of democracy, combating extremism” alongside the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez. This forum will provide a venue for world leaders to discuss how to strengthen democratic institutions and fight against inequality, disinformation and extremism.

Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira is expected to hold bilateral consultations with other foreign ministers and to participate in high-level meetings of various groups and mechanisms for coordination and dialogue, such as the G20, G4, L.69, G77/China, BRICS, IBAS, and the Contact Group of South American Foreign Ministers.

G20 CHANCELLORS – On Wednesday, 25, President Lula will speak at the opening of the second meeting of G20 foreign ministers. This will be the first time in history that a G20 meeting will take place at the UN headquarters — and Brazil will seize this opportunity to launch a Call to Action for the reform of global governance.

Open to all UN Member States, the meeting will also be attended by Minister Mauro Vieira; the Secretary-General of the United Nations; the President of the General Assembly; the President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).

“This Call to Action will have a section dedicated mainly to the structure and reform of the United Nations. It will also include a section on financial architecture and the organization of world trade[1] . The focus is on governance issues. But since the meeting will be at the UN and the participants will basically be foreign ministers, the discussion should focus on the UN. However, the Call to Action will also revisit the theme of international financial architecture,” stated Ambassador Cozendey.

According to the ambassador, the Brazilian delegation will also highlight Brazil’s achievements as current president of the G20, especially the launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

CONTEXT – The UN General Assembly is one of the main bodies of the UN, bringing together the 193 states that are part of the organization. Each nation has the right to one vote. Opening the UNGA General Debate allows Brazil to present the country's domestic and international priorities.

A new session of the General Assembly begins annually in September, with the opening of the general debate. The 79th UNGA will be chaired by Ambassador Philémon Yang of Cameroon, who will lead the Assembly's work until September 2025. Heads of State or Government are expected to participate, creating a unique opportunity to strengthen relations and dialogue between world leaders.