PM leaves for US to attend 70th UNGA session

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has left for New York to attend the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday.
He will be staying in London for two days where he will have meetings with the community leaders before proceeding to New York on Friday. Two significant meetings will also be attended by the prime minister in London. It is likely that he will be having a brief stay in London during his return journey next month. His meeting with the British Prime Minister David Cameron during any of his visits was not ruled out.
First Lady Begum Kalsum Nawaz is also accompanying the prime minister. The premier will address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 30th September. He will be having a long stay in New York and it would be of six days.
A hectic schedule awaits him there as Pakistan’s permanent representative for the UN Ambassador Dr Maleeha Lodhi has made elaborate arrangements for the prime minister’s engagements in the city. The premier is traveling by his 12-seater relatively small Gulfstream jet plane that will have one stop before reaching London for fueling as a small delegation is with him.
The PM will attend the global leaders meeting on gender equality and women empowerment organised by China and UN women. He will also deliver a speech. The prime minister will address the plenary meeting of the General Assembly for adoption of the post-2015 Development Agenda. He will attend receptions to be hosted separately by the UN secretary general and US President Barack Obama in honour of the heads of states/governments attending the session.
The prime minister will attend a peace summit co-hosted by Pakistan, the United States and the UN secretary general in New York. The premier will have meetings with several world leaders during his stay in New York, the sources said.
Adviser to the Prime Minister for National Security Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to the PM (SAPM) for Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Director General Foreign Office for the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmed are also part of the prime minister’s delegation to attend the UNGA.
Meanwhile, it has been decided that the PM Nawaz Sharif will address the UNGA on September 30th in English not in Urdu.
The prime minister is going to address the world body for the third time during his current stint. The proposal for address by the prime minister in Urdu cropped up in the background of the verdict of the Supreme Court that has made incumbent on the government to make Urdu as the official language of the country in accordance with the Constitution that has mandated to make Urdu as the official language.
Highly-placed sources told The News that the proposed address of the prime minister has been choreographed by a team of experts under Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi and five thousand words speech would highlight some new dimensions of regional developments with special reference to India and Afghanistan.
The PM will articulate the government’s vision of a peaceful neighbourhood and economic development, and share with the world community Pakistan’s position and priorities on key international and regional issues.