The Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Gerapetritis, will travel to New York on Saturday, September 21, to participate in the High-Level Week of the UN 79th General Assembly, held from September 22 to 27.
Mr. Gerapetritis' schedule includes over 40 high-level meetings and contacts with Foreign Ministers from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Central and Latin America, as well as meetings with high-level officials from the United Nations and regional organizations.
The Minister's contacts will focus on global challenges and regional crises, particularly in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr. Gerapetritis will meet, among others, with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs will also attend a Transatlantic Dinner hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in the presence of the Foreign Ministers of the European Union and NATO.
Additionally, Mr. Gerapetritis will participate in trilateral meetings of the Foreign Ministers of Greece-Cyprus-Egypt, and Greece-Cyprus-Jordan. He will also attend a Ministerial Working Dinner on the Middle East and a Ministerial Meeting on the situation in Gaza and the Palestinian issue.
During the General Assembly, Mr. Gerapetritis will attend the Meeting of the EU Member States Foreign Ministers, the Ministerial Working Breakfast of the “Friends of the Western Balkans” Group with the presence of the Foreign Ministers from these countries, the Quadrilateral Meeting of Greece-Romania-Croatia-Bulgaria, as well as a Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP).
The participation of the Minister in the Session of the General Assembly comes three months after Greece's landslide election on June 6, 2024, as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2025-2026 term, with 182 out of 188 states voting in favor. The priorities of Greece’s participation include peaceful resolution of disputes, respect for international law, the "Women, Peace, and Security" agenda, climate change and security, children in armed conflicts, and maritime security.
Greece's term of office in the Security Council will start on January 1, 2025, but from October 1, 2024, the country will participate in the Council’s sessions with observer status. In this regard, Mr. Gerapetritis will attend a High-Level Meeting of the Security Council on the maintenance of international peace and security, a Ministerial-Level Meeting of newly-elected Security Council members (I5), as well as a Ministerial Level Event for elected and newly-elected Security Council members (E10 + I5).
Lastly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will participate in meetings that the Prime Minister will conduct with foreign leaders during the UN General Assembly.
September 19, 2024