Vucic in New York, UN Assembly Speech Set for Wednesday

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrived in New York ahead of the opening of the United Nations General Debate and, on Monday, September 22, took part in the high level summit “Partners for Multilateralism, International Law, Peace and Prosperity” (P4M). The summit is being held before the formal opening of the general debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, and Vucic’s address to world leaders is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23.

The P4M summit is organized by European Council President Antonio Costa, Kenyan President William Ruto and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. It is designed as an open platform for partners from every part of the world willing to defend shared principles and work on practical solutions, meant to support the work of the United Nations and other multilateral formats, help connect regions, and contribute to reforming and modernizing multilateral institutions.

Writing from New York on Instagram, Vucic said that in a time of deep divisions and increasingly complex global challenges, it is necessary to jointly preserve space for dialogue, cooperation and the peaceful resolution of disputes, with a strong role for the United Nations.

“Today, more than ever, we need responsibility, mutual respect and a willingness to compromise.”

Outlets reported the rest of that message differently. According to 24sedam, the president added that trust between states can only be restored, and lasting peace and prosperity secured for future generations, through the consistent application of jointly agreed principles and obligations. Danas, citing the same post, quoted a different sentence.

“Serbia remains consistently committed to respecting international law and the UN Charter, because only on those principles can we build a fairer and safer world,” Vucic said.

Theme of the session: restoring trust

The UN General Assembly opened its 81st regular session on September 8, and the general debate runs from September 22 to 28. According to the United Nations website, around 130 heads of state and government are attending High Level Week at the organization’s headquarters in New York. This year’s session carries the theme “Restoring trust, reigniting global solidarity: the United Nations serving all.”

During his stay in New York, Vucic will hold bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders and representatives of the international community, according to an announcement from the presidential cabinet. Names of the officials he will meet have not yet been disclosed.

Before leaving for New York on Sunday, Vucic said his address to the General Assembly would present Serbia’s position: a country on the European path that, by several measures, also belongs to the Global South and is close to both African and Asian nations.

“To speak about our position, but also to speak about all the deceptions we have been through over the past, not 15, but 30 and 35 years, about false principles, hypocrisy, double standards, about how and in what way they explained to us that our people needed to be extradited to the Hague Tribunal, and that afterward milk and honey would flow and flowers would bloom. We extradited them, essentially, in sacks, and got nothing in return. We signed numerous agreements, and every agreement we signed was broken, including by those who were meant to guarantee it, not only by some other side in the region,” the Serbian president said.

He added that the address would include much that people would recognize and understand from today’s world.

Vucic speaks before world leaders on Wednesday, September 23, as part of the general debate that runs through September 28.