Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in New York on Tuesday afternoon (Monday evening local time) to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
He will be participating in the General Debate starting from Tuesday (local time), and deliver a key speech on Friday, September 27. He is expected to address a variety of critical global issues surrounding peace, climate change, and Pakistan’s enduring stance on the Kashmir and Palestine conflicts.
He is likely to press for international intervention, especially in resolving the Kashmir dispute, and will urge world leaders to take a stronger stance on these unresolved conflicts. He will also call for the protection of the human rights of Kashmiris and stress the importance of upholding United Nations Security Council resolutions on the matter.
During his five-day stay, Shehbaz will also engaging in high-level diplomatic meetings in which he will reinforce Pakistan’s role in the global community, especially in multilateral cooperation, and share the country’s perspective. Another key focus of the prime minister’s trip will be climate change, since Pakistan has been severely affected by climate disasters in recent years.
He is expected to use this global platform to highlight the country’s vulnerability and call for more international cooperation in this regard. He will likely insist on implementing more aggressive measures to combat such disasters and help countries better prepare for future risks. On the sidelines of the General Assembly session, Shehbaz Sharif has a packed schedule of bilateral meetings with world leaders.
Among his confirmed meetings are discussions with World Bank President Ajay Banga and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. The meetings are expected to center around securing more development aid and restructuring Pakistan’s external debt.
The prime minister will also meet with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to discuss peacekeeping, climate action, and other multilateral efforts. But something being chattered about in the diplomatic as well as political circles is whether he will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There have been no reports of a formal meeting scheduled between the two leaders, but diplomatic observers have speculated about the possibility of an informal interaction.
Given the strained ties between the two countries, even a simple handshake would attract international attention. Still, no official sources have confirmed whether the two leaders will even cross paths. The prime minister will also engage with members of the US-Pakistan Business Council and Pakistani bankers in America to advance Pakistan’s economic agenda.
He will be using the trip to promote the country’s pro-business and investment policies, and at the same time strengthen economic ties between Pakistan and the United States. He will woo businessmen to invest in key sectors like technology, energy, and infrastructure, and highlight his government’s ongoing reforms to create a business-friendly environment.
It may be mentioned here that Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Atta Tarar, Federal Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Tariq Fatemi are accompanying the prime minister in this visit.