Washington: US President Donald Trump will focus on three key issues such as peace, prosperity and upholding sovereignty and accountability during his maiden address to the UN General Assembly next week, according to National security advisor Lt Gen H R McMaster.
Trump will speak to the assembly on Tuesday during the 72nd annual General Assembly session of the UN. In addition to his customary address, Trump will also hold a series of meetings with world leaders and address several other thematic issues at the UN during his stay in New York.
"The president's consistent message across all of his engagements throughout the week will emphasise three goals common to all nations who will be gathered there: first, to promote peace; second, to promote prosperity; and third, to uphold sovereignty and accountability, "McMaster told reporters yesterday.
Observing that a peaceful world depends on the contributions of all nations, McMaster said the global community must share responsibility for international security while each country protects the security of its own people.
"Prosperity is also a shared responsibility. The president looks forward to furthering economic cooperation, investment opportunities and new business ties with other governments and businesses across the world. As always, this administration's iron-clad commitment to free, fair and reciprocal trade and access to markets will be the bedrock of our economic talks," he said.
Noting that sovereignty and accountability are the essential foundations of peace and prosperity, he said America respects the sovereignty of other countries, expects other nations to do the same, and urges all governments to be accountable to their citizens.
"That accountability has broken down in places such as Venezuela and Syria. And we also see today revisionist powers who are threatening the sovereignty in the Greater Middle East, Eastern and Southern Europe and in East Asia," he said. McMaster said the president will join senior UN leadership and the leaders of more than 120 other nations to discuss reforming the institution.
The president will express support for Secretary General Guterres' reform efforts. The UN of course holds tremendous potential to realise its founding ideals, but only if it's run more efficiently and effectively, he said. On Monday, Trump will meet leaders of France and Israel, two of America's closest allies. While their conversations will be wide-ranging, we expect that Iran's destabilising behavior, including its violation of the sovereignty of nations across the Middle East, to be a major focus, he added.
Trump will host a working dinner with Latin American leaders on Monday evening. "He's looking forward to discussing the crisis in Venezuela, as well as our increasingly strong economic ties, shared goals for elevating the prosperity of our peoples, and the extraordinary success of like-minded Latin American nations in recent decades," Mc Master said.
After his first address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump will have a lunch with Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He will also meet Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia, this year's General Assembly president and the Emir of Qatar. In the evening, he will host a traditional diplomatic reception. Mc Master said, "He (Trump) will urge all states to come together to address grave dangers that threaten us all. If nations meet these challenges, immense opportunity lies before us."
On Wednesday, Trump will meet leaders of Jordan, the Palestinian National Authority, the UK and Egypt. He will host a working luncheon with African leaders to discuss how the US can help African nations develop their economies, address urgent challenges, and strengthen security relationships and economic relationships between our nations, McMaster said.
On Thursday, Trump will meet leaders of Turkey, Afghanistan and Ukraine. "The latter two countries in particular have suffered direct and persistent attacks on their sovereignty in recent years," he said. "He will also host a lunch with the leaders of South Korea and Japan. As Kim Jong Un's most recent missile launch demonstrates, North Korea remains one of the world's most urgent and dangerous security problems.
It is vital that all nations work together to do our utmost to solve that problem," McMaster said. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the president will highlight the UN reform event. "It is very, very important. We've got a massive reform package being led by the secretary general that really streamlines not just the processes, but also that budget as it goes forward, and makes the UN much more effective," she said.
"There are no shortage of issues, with North Korea being front and centre. Iran will be an issue. Syria will certainly be talked about. Terrorism efforts and how we counter that is a huge topic on what we're dealing with. Obviously, the humanitarian issues that we face around the world," Haley said. PTI
