The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) begins today at the UN headquarters in New York, in the first in-person format since the outbreak of COVID-19 and, as always, will bring together world leaders, civil society activists, private sector players, and young people from around the world.

Running from September 13 for two weeks, delegates and attendees will partake in speeches, summits, debate, and dialogue against a backdrop of complex, interconnected crises.

Climate change and the environment will be one of the most pressing issues on the agenda, following UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to flood-hit Pakistan; while global conflict and fallout from ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which have exacerbated inequality, poverty, and hunger across the planet, particularly among the most vulnerable populations, will also be hot topics.

According to the UN, the need for global cooperation is more urgent than ever and it says the world is facing a stark choice: Break down or breakthrough.

Heads of states and governments from 193 Member States will exchange statements in-person in the General Assembly Hall, on the theme “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.” 

High-level events will include the annual Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) moment, the Transforming Education Summit, commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, a high-level plenary to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and several Member State and partner side events.

President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to address the high-level General Debate of the 77th Session of UNGA on Wednesday, September 21.

A revised provisional list of speakers shows that President Buhari would be the first speaker on the second day of the gathering. He will be the fourth African leader to address this year’s General Assembly.

His counterparts from Ghana, Gabon Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic are also expected to speak.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro would be the first leader to present the 77th session. United States President Joe Biden will have the floor afterward as the traditional second speaker, being the host country.

UNGA 77 will take place between September 13 and 27, while the General Debate will be held from the 20th to 26th. The session opens next Tuesday with the inauguration of the new UNGA President, Csaba Korösi of Hungary.

Korösi will succeed the President of 76th session, Maldives’ Abdulla Shahid, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Nigeria’s Tijjani Muhammad-Bande was the President of 74th session from September 17, 2019 to September 15, 2020.