World Leaders Address UN General Assembly

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Malawi President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera are among the world leaders scheduled to take their turn to address the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. 

Johnson has highlighted in the days before his speech the need to take action to address climate change, saying a global economic recovery “must be rooted in green growth.” 

Rich nations have benefitted from growth that resulted in pollution, and now “have a duty to help developing countries grow their economies in a green and sustainable way,” Johnson said in a Twitter post Monday.

Johnson’s address comes a day after he met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House. 

Combatting climate change was among the topics of discussion in separate meetings U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held Tuesday with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez ahead of their addresses to the General Assembly on Wednesday. 

Other speakers Wednesday include Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio and Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg. 

After the coronavirus pandemic kept heads of state from attending last year’s General Assembly meetings, about 100 are attending this year’s session in New York. Others are choosing to stay home and deliver their remarks via a recording. 

Those giving pre-recorded addresses Wednesday include Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. 
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