HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MIROSLAV LAJČÁK

United Nations Headquarters, New York

5 February 2018

 

PRESIDENT HEADS TOMORROW TO REP. OF KOREA AHEAD OF WINTER OLYMPICS

  • The President will leave New York tomorrow for a trip to Seoul, Republic of Korea. While in Seoul, he is expected to hold meetings with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea and the Speaker of the National Assembly.
  • He will also address the opening session of the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development. That forum will be co-hosted by the Institute for Global Engagement and Empowerment and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizenship. His speech will focus on the role of multilateralism in a turbulent world.
  • The President will also travel to Pyeongchang for the Olympic Winter Games. He will participate in the Olympic Torch Relay as a torchbearer, attend the Opening Ceremony and receive an award from the Truce Foundation of the United States.
  • He will return to New York on 11 February and be back in the office on 12 February.
  • In response to a question, the Spokesperson said that travel costs would be covered from the United Nations regular budget with support on the ground provided by the Government of the Republic of Korea, the International Olympic Committee and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizenship.
  • Asked what exactly would be covered by the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizenship, the Spokesperson said that the Centre would cover the cost of the President’s accommodation on his first night in Seoul.

 

SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM MEETING SEES ACTIVE PARTICIPATION FROM MEMBER STATES

  • The year’s first meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform wrapped up on 2 February.
  • Member States participated actively. The Co-Chairs listened to the viewpoints presented by the speakers.
  • The next meeting will be held on 27 and 28 February.

 

ASSEMBLY BRIEFED ON FORTHCOMING G20 SUMMIT

  • The General Assembly is holding a briefing today to hear from the Argentine Sherpa of the Group of 20 (G20). The topic is the priorities and plans of the G20 summit to be convened in November in Buenos Aires.
  • The Sherpa was joined by the Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations and the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
  • Today’s briefing is part of efforts to strengthen understanding and cooperation in matters of global economic governance.
  • A statement from the President was delivered by one of the Vice Presidents of the General Assembly, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka.
  • In that statement, the President said that, with G20 countries accounting for two-thirds of the world’s population, we cannot achieve sustainable development without the G20 on board.
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