President arrives in N.Y. to lead Pakistan delegation to UNGA

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NEW YORK: President Asif Ali Zardari flew into New York Sunday night to lead Pakistan’s delegation to the 64th session of U.N. General Assembly during which world leaders will debate issues of peace and security. The President, who traveled by a commercial flight, was received by Pakistan’s U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, the envoy to the United States, Husain Haqqani, and senior officials of the Pakistan Mission to the U.N. and the Consulate General in New York at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport. The 192-member assembly begins its high-level debate on Wednesday—a day after holding a summit on the critical issue of Climate Change. Eighty six Heads of State; three Vice-Presidents, 36 Heads of Government; eight Deputy Prime Ministers, 55 Foreign Ministers, two Vice-Ministers, two Chairpersons of delegations, and two observers will take part in the session, which will be suspended in December. During his stay here, the president will go through a busy schedule, attending a string of summit-level conferences and holding talks with his counterparts from around the world as also with top United States and United Nations officials besides attending a ceremony in which Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto will be posthumously honoured. The head of U.N. commission looking into Ms. Bhutto’s assassination, Chile’s UN Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, is expected to pay a “courtesy call” on the President, according to official sources. The three-member commission is half through its inquiry—it is set to submit it report in December. It began its work in July. The President’s delegation includes Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, National Reconstruction Bureau Chairman Asim Hussain, Environment Minister Hameedullah Jan Afridi and Awami National Party Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan as well as senior government official. The President will be co-hosting with US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a summit-level meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) aimed at helping the nation tide over economic and security challenges it faces. The September 24 meeting on the sidelines of the assembly session will mark the first anniversary of the launch of the initiative that President Zardari took in September 2008. Informed sources say some new pledges to help Pakistan overcome its current difficulties may be announced. The invitees to the meeting include: Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, European Commission, European Union, United Nations, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development and World Bank. On Thursday, UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon, who will attend the meeting, called for supporting President Zardari’s government as it fights terrorism. The President’s bilateral meetings will be with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodrigues, Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkende, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayid Al Nahyan. The US Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke will also be meeting the President. Pakistan UN Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon said that efforts were being to accommodate more heads of state/government wishing to meet the president. The President will also attend a debate at the Clinton Global initiative, which brings together world leaders to take action on global challenges. Former US President Bill Clinton launched the initiative in 2007. NEW YORK: President Asif Ali Zardari flew into New York Sunday night to lead Pakistan’s delegation to the 64th session of U.N. General Assembly during which world leaders will debate issues of peace and security. The President, who traveled by a commercial flight, was received by Pakistan’s U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, the envoy to the United States, Husain Haqqani, and senior officials of the Pakistan Mission to the U.N. and the Consulate General in New York at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport. The 192-member assembly begins its high-level debate on Wednesday—a day after holding a summit on the critical issue of Climate Change. Eighty six Heads of State; three Vice-Presidents, 36 Heads of Government; eight Deputy Prime Ministers, 55 Foreign Ministers, two Vice-Ministers, two Chairpersons of delegations, and two observers will take part in the session, which will be suspended in December. During his stay here, the president will go through a busy schedule, attending a string of summit-level conferences and holding talks with his counterparts from around the world as also with top United States and United Nations officials besides attending a ceremony in which Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto will be posthumously honoured. The head of U.N. commission looking into Ms. Bhutto’s assassination, Chile’s UN Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, is expected to pay a “courtesy call” on the President, according to official sources. The three-member commission is half through its inquiry—it is set to submit it report in December. It began its work in July. The President’s delegation includes Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, National Reconstruction Bureau Chairman Asim Hussain, Environment Minister Hameedullah Jan Afridi and Awami National Party Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan as well as senior government official. The President will be co-hosting with US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a summit-level meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) aimed at helping the nation tide over economic and security challenges it faces. The September 24 meeting on the sidelines of the assembly session will mark the first anniversary of the launch of the initiative that President Zardari took in September 2008. Informed sources say some new pledges to help Pakistan overcome its current difficulties may be announced. The invitees to the meeting include: Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, European Commission, European Union, United Nations, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development and World Bank. On Thursday, UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon, who will attend the meeting, called for supporting President Zardari’s government as it fights terrorism. The President’s bilateral meetings will be with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodrigues, Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkende, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayid Al Nahyan. The US Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke will also be meeting the President. Pakistan UN Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon said that efforts were being to accommodate more heads of state/government wishing to meet the president. The President will also attend a debate at the Clinton Global initiative, which brings together world leaders to take action on global challenges. Former US President Bill Clinton launched the initiative in 2007.

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