President arrives in New York to attend 76th UNGA Session

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived in New York to attend the 76th United Nations’ General Assembly (UNGA) Session.

The delegation headed by the President arrived at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York at 2.30 p.m., New York time, on September 18, President Media Division (PMD) said. The President and the delegation were warmly welcomed by Mr. Mohan Peiris, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.

The 76th Session of the UNGA begins on Tuesday, 21 September under the theme “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations.” The Foreign Ministerial level summit of the General Assembly will begin tomorrow morning, and Heads of State from a number of countries are already in New York to attend the summit.

President Rajapaksa is expected to address the General Assembly on the 22nd and the President is expected to address the Food Systems Summit on the 23rd and the High-level Dialogue on Energy on the 24th. He is also expected to hold bilateral discussions with several heads of state during the session.

Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage are accompanying the President on this visit.