Minister Tajani to participate in the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, will be in New York from today until September 25 to participate - accompanying the Prime Minister - in the High-Level Week of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). This year's theme for the general debate -"Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights" -will provide world leaders with the opportunity to reflect on the achievements and prospects for multilateralism in the year marking the Organization's eightieth anniversary.

Particular attention will be paid to major international crises and coordination with the partners involved. Today, Monday the 22nd, Minister Tajani will participate in the High-Level Conference on the Two-State Solution, convened by France and Saudi Arabia, and in the informal G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, convened by the Canadian Presidency.

Tuesday will be dedicated to Gaza, Ukraine, and Africa. The Security Council will hold two specific debates on the first two topics.

Minister Tajani stated: "I will reaffirm Italy's support for the process of recognizing the future Palestinian State, once it is established, with the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank. A Palestinian State free from Hamas, as enshrined in the UN Resolution co-sponsored by Italy and adopted on 12 September. I will also reaffirm our commitment to the civilian population through the Food for Gaza initiative, with new medical evacuations planned in the coming weeks. We will also reaffirm our opposition to the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, which jeopardizes the implementation of the Two-State Solution, and to the ground offensive launched by Israel due to its risks for the civilian population."

He also stated: "Regarding Ukraine, we will discuss with our partners how to increase pressure on Russia to push it back to the negotiating table, reaffirming our support for a just and lasting peace with adequate security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe, such as those proposed by Italy based on NATO's Article 5 model."

Regarding Africa, the mission to New York will enable the Minister to reaffirm Italy's commitment to Africa's stability, development, and prosperity in many bilateral meetings with African partners. The Minister will also open the Italian event organized by Sant'Egidio, in the presence of the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

On Wednesday, Minister Tajani will chair the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia) together with the "Friends of the Western Balkans" Group (Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Slovakia, and Slovenia), continuing Italy's long-standing commitment to strengthening the partnership with regional partners. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, will also be present at the meeting, to promote increased attention from European institutions to the region's European integration process.

Minister Tajani will also have a series of bilateral meetings to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and address the most pressing crises.

The mission to the UNGA will conclude with a visit to the Consulate to meet with Italian companies and local representatives of the Italian and Italian-American communities. The New York constituency includes approximately 300 Italian companies and 110,000 Italians.