The General debate of the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opened on 19 September and ran until 26 September 2023. Leaders from a number of member states will address the UNGA.
Organisation and subjects
The order of speakers is given first to member states, then observer states and supranational bodies. Any other observer entities will have a chance to speak at the end of the debate, if they so choose. Speakers will be put on the list in the order of their request, with special consideration for ministers and other government officials of similar or higher rank. According to the rules in place for the General Debate, the statements should be in one of the United Nations official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish) and will be translated and interpreted by United Nations translators and interpreters. Each speaker is requested to provide 20 advance copies of their statements to the conference officers to facilitate translation and to be presented at the podium. The theme for this year's debate was chosen by President Dennis Francis as: "Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all".
Speaking schedule
Since 1955, Brazil and the United States are traditionally the first and second countries to speak. Other countries follow according to a speaking schedule issued by the Secretariat.
The list of speakers is provided by both the daily UN Journal, while changes in order are also reflected by the UNGA General Debate website.
19 September
Morning session
- Secretary-General António Guterres (Report of the UN Secretary-General) - 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly - President Dennis Francis (Opening statement) - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva - President Joe Biden - President Gustavo Petro - King Abdullah II - President Andrzej Duda - President Miguel Díaz-Canel - President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan - President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa - Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani - President Cyril Ramaphosa - President Serdar Berdimuhamedov - President Volodymyr Zelenskyy - President Alejandro Giammattei - President Katalin Novák - President Alain Berset - President Nataša Pirc Musar - President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Evening session
- President Luis Arce
- President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
- President Ebrahim Raisi
- President Abdelmadjid Tebboune
- President Alberto Fernández
- President Nayib Bukele
- President Sadyr Zhaparov
- President Santiago Peña
- President Dina Boluarte
- President Filipe Nyusi
- President Laurentino Cortizo
- President Bola Tinubu
- President Luis Lacalle Pou
- President Petr Pavel
- President Surangel Whipps Jr. - President Macky Sall - Chancellor Olaf Scholz - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida