UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the UN General Assembly Abdulla Shahid made the opening remarks, which covered a wide range of areas, including coronavirus pandemic, climate change, worldwide water crises and extreme weather conditions, detrimental disinformation campaigns, and security challenges threatening world peace such conflicts in Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Lebanon, among other issues.
In contrast with last year’s gathering of world leaders in which all speeches were virtually delivered, this year’s event features both in-person and prerecorded speeches.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, who decided not to attend the gathering in person due to safety concerns over the raging pandemic, was to deliver an online speech during the morning session of the first day of the General Debate.
Among other world leaders who addressed the General Assembly during the morning session were US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In his remarks, the US president once again expressed his administration’s willingness to engage with Iran with the aim of reviving the 2015 nuclear deal to resolve a diplomatic standoff over the lingering issue.