Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to skip UNGA session due to SCO summit preparations

PM Shehbaz will attend the 79th session of the UNGA in New York from September 23 to 27, 2024

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar will not proceed to New York for the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly due to important diplomatic commitments and preparations for the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit to be held in Islamabad.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stated the media speculation regarding the participation of the deputy prime minister in the UNGA Session.

Meanwhile, she made it clear that Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s programme for participation in the Session will remain unchanged.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from September 23 to 27, 2024, as announced by the Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday.

Earlier, it was said that he will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar along with senior government officials, stated FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch during her weekly press briefing.

In his address at the UNGA, the PM will reaffirm Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to multilateralism and express support for the UN's role in fostering global peace, security, and prosperity.

He will also emphasise the need to address long-standing issues on the UN Security Council’s agenda, including the questions of Palestine and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Additionally, the PM is scheduled to attend several high-level meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA session, including a meeting focused on existential threats posed by sea-level rise and the UN Security Council’s open debate on leadership for peace.

Bilateral meetings with world leaders, discussions with the UN secretary-general and the president of the UNGA, and engagements with members of the Pakistani diaspora are also on the agenda for the visit.

Simultaneously, DPM Dar will participate in several high-level events and bilateral meetings with his counterparts.

He will represent Pakistan at the Summit of the Future convened by the UN Secretary-General on September 22.

He will also attend various ministerial meetings, including the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) annual coordination meeting of foreign ministers, the OIC contact group on Jammu and Kashmir, the ministerial meeting of G77 and China, and the Non-Aligned Movement ministerial meeting.