Albares will discuss Venezuela in New York with his colleagues from Mexico, Colombia and Brazil

Eduardo González The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will participate starting this Monday in the High Level Week of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on the margins of which he will hold a four-way meeting with his counterparts from Mexico, Colombia and Brazil to address the crisis in Venezuela. The High Level Week will bring together in New York the heads of State and Government and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 193 member countries of the organisation. According to a press release from Foreign Ministry, the Spanish delegation is participating in this UN General Assembly with the firm intention of reinforcing its commitment to “an inclusive and effective multilateralism, which allows us to articulate consensus and fight in an effective, committed and coherent way for peace, development and human rights”. The general debate of the 79th UNGA, which begins this Monday and will continue until September 27, is taking place in a turbulent context characterized by the simultaneity and persistence of conflicts. Given this situation, Spain argues that in order to overcome the security and humanitarian crises in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Sahel, among other regions of the world, urgent action is required by the international community. During the High Level Week, the leaders will discuss the situation in the Middle East and other conflicts to advance in the search for a lasting peace. In addition, they will address priority issues on the global agenda such as the fight against impunity, cooperation in global health or action against climate change to advance compliance with the Paris Agreement. Summit of the Future The theme of the period of the 79th UNGA, “Leaving no one behind. Together, promoting peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”, reflects the major global concerns and links with the main themes of the Future Summit (22-23 September). This summit, a central element and guiding thread of the General Assembly, “will allow all participants to rethink the multilateral system, the major global challenges and the role of the United Nations in this complicated context”. The participating countries will discuss multilateral responses to global challenges arising from the political and economic gap between North and South, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the acceleration of the climate emergency and the challenges of the digital transition. In this framework, the Meeting on the Africa Strategy also stands out, which will analyse the transformation and strengthening of our country's relations with the continent, making them more strategic, as well as supporting the economic and social transformation of the countries of said continent, with a focus on youth and employment. The agenda for the High Level Week is packed with numerous events, including Spanish leadership in priority issues of Spanish foreign policy. This is the case of the commemoration by UN Women of the tenth anniversary of the HeForShe initiative; a round table co-organised with Brazil on the promotion of democratic principles and the protection of institutions against extremism; and a meeting within the framework of the Feminist Foreign Policy Group +, co-led this year by Spain and Mexico. Ibero-American agenda Ibero-America will also have a central role in the development of this week's agenda at the United Nations, according to Foreign Ministry. Minister Albares will once again have the opportunity to thank his Ibero-American colleagues for choosing Spain to host the next Ibero-American Summit. The occasion will also be used to hold an informal EU-CELAC ministerial meeting. The agenda of the Minister of Foreign Affairs also includes a four-way meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil to address the situation in Venezuela. Albares will also meet with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean Pierre Lacroix; the UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini; and the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, among other high-level contacts that he will hold over the next week.

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