Montenegro meets with Guterres and participates in an event with Zelensky in New York
The Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, will meet, this Wednesday, with the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in New Yorkwhere also will participate in an event organized by the Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky, with countries that have signed security agreements with Ukraine.
Luís Montenegro arrived in the United States of America on Tuesday night, early in the morning in Lisbon, for the annual general debate between heads of State and Government of the 193 member countries of the United Nations (UN).
This Wednesday, before meeting with António Guterres, the head of the PSD/CDS-PP Government willntake part in a high-level panel on ocean sustainability whether UN Security Council open debate on leadership for peace.
According to the program released by the prime minister’s office, at the event organized by Volodymyr Zelensky with countries that have signed security agreements with Ukraine, a joint declaration will be adopted that Portugal will sign.
In between, Luís Montenegro will participate in a working lunch of the Paris Pact for People and Planet (4P) Leaders Group.
At the end of the day, the Prime Minister will be at the usual reception offered by the North American President, Joe Biden, to the heads of State and Government participating in the UN General Assembly.
His debut speech before the UN General Assembly is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, the third day of the general debate of this 79th annual session, which began on Tuesday.
In the context of fires in Portugal, last week, Luís Montenegro decided to reduce the duration of his trip to New York, initially scheduled for between Monday and Thursday.
This is your time in the United States of America, where you were in July, to participate in the NATO Summit in Washington.
Montenegro wants to reinforce cooperation with the USA and promises more support for emigrants
The head of the PSD/CDS-PP Government took advantage of this trip to hold two meetings with representatives of Portuguese emigrant communities. He was in Mineola, Long Island, upon arrival in the United States of America, on Tuesday night.
“At a time when the world is experiencing difficult times, times of uncertainty, times of war, we in Portugal, weour Government we know who our people are allies, and we are an ally of the United States and we know that the United States is an ally of Portugal”, he declared, before around a hundred people, at the Mineola Portuguese Center.
“And, in addition to all the concern we have for our community, there is a concern that, as Portuguese people, with the humanist sense that characterizes us, with the sense of respect for human rights, freedoms, democracy, I also want to assure you here: at the level of bilateral relations and at the level of our participation in international organizations where we are at the same time, we will continue to work on strengthening cooperation with the United States of America. He is, in fact, one of the privileged partners we have in our foreign policy,” she added.
According to Luís Montenegro, his executive is “creating conditions” for the Portuguese diplomatic network to do “even more in direct support to the communityfor the exercise of political and civic participation, for access to information, for access to opening doors in the American administration, which is also necessary in the integration process”.
The Prime Minister noted that he was not “looking back critically”, but rather “looking forward with ambition”.
“Our diplomatic network serves this purpose and is committed, will be committed to guaranteeing this support to all Portuguese women and men who live here and to all their descendants”, he reinforced.
Montenegro will be in Newark on Thursday night, before heading back to Portugal.
Rangel is also in New York to represent Portugal at the Future Summit
In New York, there is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangelwho on Monday spoke on behalf of Portugal at the Future Summit promoted by the UN Secretary-General.
This session of the UN General Assembly is theme “Leave no one behind: acting together to advance peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”.
Portugal’s representation in the annual general debate at the United Nations has alternated between President of the Republic and Prime Minister.
In 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023, the current head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, traveled to New York. In 2017, 2020 and 2022, the intervention before the General Assembly was the responsibility of the previous prime minister, António Costa.
Portugal, which launched the winning candidacy of António Guterres for UN Secretary-General in 2016, who has since been reappointed in 2021 and has a mandate until the end of 2026, is a candidate for a non-permanent member position on the UN Security Council in the 2027-28 biennium.
