President Halonen to attend the UN General Assembly

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Press Release 14 September 2010

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen will travel to New York for the opening of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly on 17–25 September 2010. President Halonen will chair the first session of the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, co-chair a meeting on the Millennium Development Goals and deliver Finland’s statement as part of the general debate of the General Assembly.

Established by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability will convene for the first time on Sunday, 19 September with the intention of deciding on the focus areas and key themes of its work. President Halonen will co-chair the panel together with the President of the Republic of South-Africa Jacob Zuma.

The 65th Session of the General Assembly will begin with the Summit on the Millennium Development Goals organised by Secretary-General Ban. President Halonen will deliver a speech and co-chair one of the round-table sessions focusing on sustainable development.

The Millennium Development Goals were approved in 2000 at a summit co-chaired by President Halonen together with Namibian President Sam Nujoma.

President Halonen will also speak at an event focusing on the Millennium Development Goals and decent work, organised by the International Labour Organization, and take part in a small group discussion on women’s political representation organised by the Clinton Global Initiative.

On Friday, 24 September President Halonen will deliver Finland’s statement as part of the general debate. She will head the Finnish delegation, which will be co-chaired by Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen and Minister of Communications Suvi Lindén.

During the week President Halonen will also have bilateral meetings with several heads of state and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and attend a reception hosted by the President of the United States Barack Obama.