The head of state has consistently advocated for multilateralism and supported the priorities of António Guterres as the Secretary-General of this organization, founded in 1945, to which Portugal joined in 1955.
In the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will be the 11th head of state to speak, according to the UN list, during the morning in New York, which is the afternoon in Portugal.
The first head of state to speak will be Brazil’s President, Lula da Silva, followed by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, the host country, as is tradition.
Throughout the day, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will continue bilateral meetings to promote Portugal’s candidacy for a non-permanent member seat on the UN Security Council for the term 2027-2028, to be elected in 2026, for which Germany and Austria have also submitted their candidacies.
Scheduled meetings for the President of the Republic include those with the presidents of Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Kiribati, Micronesia, Iraq, the Crown Prince of Kuwait, and the President of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock from Germany.
In previous days, he held bilateral meetings with the King of Jordan, the President of Tajikistan, and the Vice President of Tanzania.
The head of state also met with the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in a farewell meeting, as he is less than six months from the end of his second presidential mandate.
Later today, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will attend the customary reception hosted by the President of the United States for the heads of delegations participating in the UN General Assembly, held at a hotel in New York, where he will reconnect with Donald Trump.
The 80th session of the UN General Assembly, taking place amidst conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, has the theme “Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights.”
In the days preceding the annual General Debate, several countries, including Portugal, announced the recognition of the State of Palestine, which had already been recognized by the majority of the 193 UN member countries.
The Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, who traveled to New York for this week of high-level events, formally declared the recognition of the State of Palestine on Sunday at Portugal’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
Following this declaration, the President of the Republic spoke at a High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Solution of the Palestinian Issue and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, co-organized by France and Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will remain in New York until Wednesday, on which he will participate in an open debate of the UN Security Council on artificial intelligence, peace, and international security.
