The head of state is set to participate in various high-level events at the United Nations (UN) headquarters, including an open debate of the UN Security Council on artificial intelligence, peace, and international security, scheduled for Wednesday, the final day of the visit.
The President of the Republic is also expected to attend the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Resolution of the Palestine Question and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held on Monday afternoon and jointly organized by France and Saudi Arabia.
On Friday, France announced that a group of ten countries, including Portugal, would recognize the State of Palestine, a move subsequently confirmed by the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, directing the official declaration of recognition to Sunday.
Besides Portugal and France, the countries involved in recognizing the State of Palestine in this context are Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Malta, the United Kingdom, and San Marino.
On Sunday, the President of the Republic will host a reception for representatives of the Portuguese community and Portuguese UN employees at a hotel in New York.
On Monday morning, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and participate in a High-Level Session to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the organization, founded in 1945 and joined by Portugal in 1955.
In the general debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, beginning on Tuesday, the Portuguese head of state will be the 11th to speak, according to the provisional order of interventions, still in the morning session.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, nearing the end of his second presidential term, will make his sixth and final address representing Portugal at the annual debate between heads of state and government of the UN’s 193 member states, having also participated in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023.
The 80th session of the UN General Assembly is themed “Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights.”
Portugal’s representation at the annual UN general debate has alternated between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister.
In 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023, it was Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa who traveled to New York. In 2024, the current Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, is set to address the General Assembly, while his predecessor, António Costa, did so in 2017, 2020, and 2022.
Portugal, which successfully launched António Guterres’s candidacy for UN Secretary-General in 2016, later reconfirmed in 2021 for a term extending to 2026, is vying for a non-permanent member seat on the UN Security Council for the 2027-2028 biennium, with elections slated for 2026.
