- Deputy Prime Minister will head up UK delegation
in New York for the United
Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Week.
- He and other Ministers will set out how the UK is increasing
efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a
series of commitments to make the world a fairer, healthier and
more prosperous place by 2030.
- Foreign Secretary is due to arrive in New
York today (Sunday), and will meet counterparts from the US,
France, Egypt, Barbados and Indonesia as well as attend G7 and
migration meetings.
The world must recommit to the UN’s Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) if we are to achieve them by 2030, Deputy Prime
Minister will tell the United
Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York next
week.
As the halfway point between the launch of the SDGs in 2015 and
the target for their delivery in 2030 approaches, he, the Foreign
Secretary and the wider UK delegation will make clear
countries urgently need to visibly and vocally recommit to the
Goals to make the world healthier, fairer, and more prosperous.
The Deputy Prime Minister will lead the UK delegation
and travel to New York on Tuesday – he will attend
the UN Security Council session on Thursday. He
will attend the UN Security Council session on
multilateralism and Ukraine on Wednesday to recommit our
steadfast support to Ukraine and to hold Russia to
account for its illegal actions, both in Ukraine and its cynical
attempts to undermine global food supplies and security, causing
worldwide suffering in the world’s poorest nations.
The Deputy Prime Minister will also deliver the UK’s address to
the General Assembly on Friday where he will call
on nations to cooperate to ensure the benefits of revolutionary
new technologies like AI are felt equally, while also preventing
their misuse. He will also hold meetings on AI with leading
technology companies and discuss AI regulation with other
countries ahead of the UK’s AI Safety Summit.
He will also attend UN meetings on boosting global
health and announce new UK support for strengthening health
systems. He will also discuss climate action and growing global
investment in Africa.
The Foreign Secretary, arriving in New York tomorrow (Sunday),
will meet key allies and stress the need to keep up the pressure
on Russia, making it clear to Putin that he cannot “outlast” the
international backing for Ukraine.
He is due to hold talks tomorrow (Monday) and on Tuesday with,
among others, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, Egyptian Foreign
Minister Sameh Shoukry and Indonesia’s Foreign Minister
Retno Marsudi.
Tomorrow (Monday) the Foreign Secretary will co-convene an event
on Artificial Intelligence (AI) chaired by US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken.
It will bring together governments, tech firms and NGOs to
discuss how AI can accelerate progress towards the Sustainable
Development Goals. The Deputy Prime Minister will also be
discussing the challenges and opportunities of AI with global
partners and UK and US tech firms operating in the USA during his
visit, ahead of the UK hosting the AI Safety Summit in November.
Deputy Prime Minister said:
“I’m delighted to be leading the UK delegation to the UN General
Assembly on behalf of the Prime Minister.
“The UK has always worked closely with the UN to create a safer,
healthier and more prosperous world. I look forward to using this
year to discuss the challenges and opportunities of AI, so that
the benefits of this revolutionary technology are felt fairly
across the world, and how Britain can be at the forefront of that
effort.
“Alongside this we’ll be announcing new support to tackle climate
change, boost global economic growth and prevent future
pandemics.
“But the principles of the UN are being challenged by Russia’s
appalling actions in Ukraine: deliberately attacking and
terrorising civilians and seeking to hold the world to ransom by
blocking vital food supplies.
“I will be challenging Russia at the Security Council and other
nations to strengthen international support for Ukraine’s
freedom.”
Foreign Secretary said:
“Only a functioning multilateral system can address the complex
and interconnected global challenges we are facing. But our
system is under strain, particularly from intensifying
geopolitical rivalry. The Sustainable Development Goals are
seriously off-track, and we need to come together to recommit and
accelerate their delivery by 2030.
“Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security
Council, but its invasion of Ukraine is a clear breach of
the UN Charter. Our citizens rightly demand that we
curb illegal migration and boost economic growth. Climate change
and new technologies like AI present extreme risks, but also
unprecedented opportunities.
“Putin is counting on the misguided assumption that he can
outlast international support for Ukraine. We will not
be deterred. It is in all our interests, to ensure that Russia is
defeated and evicted from Ukraine’s sovereign territory as
quickly as possible.”
