According to a note from the Press Centre of the Presidency of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço will speak at the general debate, which will take place on Tuesday, the day on which interventions will begin.
The head of state is scheduled to participate in several other multilateral events, such as the meeting of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and a summit of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).
The agenda also includes a series of hearings and diplomatic meetings, "which will allow João Lourenço to engage in dialogue with several heads of state and corporate leaders".
"A meeting with the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, is also scheduled".
With a delegation of several ministers, the President of the Republic will be accompanied on this trip by the First Lady of the Republic, Ana Dias Lourenço.
On the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, the CPLP has scheduled a "luncheon-meeting" for this Monday in New York to, in particular, analyse "the most recent political and diplomatic developments in the member states" and agree on positions on the main international issues.
The meeting, which takes advantage of the presence in New York of the CPLP heads of state and government to participate in the UN General Assembly, also includes on its agenda the assessment of the year of the São Tomé presidency of the community and a point for "other matters", with some diplomatic sources admitting that the issue of Guinea-Bissau assuming the presidency of the organisation next year may be raised.
An informal meeting of CPLP foreign affairs ministers and foreign relations is usually held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, but, according to the same sources, this year the São Tomé presidency felt it would be important to hold an informal summit of heads of state and government of the nine countries.
The aim, they said, is to make a final decision on the location of the next summit, which will be in the country that will assume the presidency of the organization.
At the last meeting of Heads of State and Government, held in São Tomé and Príncipe in August 2023, when that country assumed the presidency, it was decided that Guinea-Bissau would be the next member state to assume leadership, in 2025, for a two-year term.
However, given the political situation in that country, the member states must now decide on the location of the next summit.
The Guinean President, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, dissolved parliament on 4 December 2023, citing a serious political crisis, and called early legislative elections for 24 November this year.
Earlier this year, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and External Relations of the CPLP confirmed the location, Guinea-Bissau, and the date of 17 July 2025, for the next summit.
However, according to sources, the final decision is up to the heads of state and government, hence the scheduling of this informal meeting in New York.
A source from the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Lusa that the country will be represented at the meeting by Minister Paulo Rangel. According to sources contacted by Lusa, the presence of the Presidents of Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as the Prime Minister of East Timor, is expected, with Brazil expected to send its Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Mozambican President is also in New York, but the Portuguese-speaking meeting is not on his official agenda, just as the participant from Equatorial Guinea has not been announced.
