Leaders at the UN to discuss wars, AI and climate — PBS NewsHour
New York, United States, will host the annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly this week. World leaders will discuss wars, climate shocks, the rising cost of living, the future of the United Nations and risks associated with the rapid development of artificial intelligence. As PBS NewsHour reports, around 130 heads of state and government, as well as dozens of ministers, are expected at the meetings.
US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron are due to speak on Tuesday after UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivers an address on the state of the world. Addresses by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are scheduled for Wednesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak on Thursday, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address participants by video link on the same day.
Wars and UN reform
Among the main topics of the meetings will be the wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar. UN member states have agreed on a broad reform package that provides for the modernization of key institutions, including the Security Council. The United States, the Russian Federation — an aggressor state, China, the United Kingdom and France hold veto power in the Security Council.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the session and will send the vice president in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also not attend, nor will Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. France’s ambassador to the UN, Jérôme Bonnafont, called support for the UN as a venue for meetings between states particularly important amid polarization.
Artificial intelligence on the agenda
The UN Security Council will hold a high-level meeting on artificial intelligence on Wednesday. The issue has become one of the central topics due to the rapid development of the technology, the lack of industry restrictions and global rules for its use. On the eve of the meeting, the heads of three major AI companies warned of the loss of human control over the technology and called for a pause, but Trump rejected these warnings and urged continued development so that the United States stays ahead of China.
The agenda will also include sea-level rise, education financing, gender equality and the UN’s financial condition. The United States recently paid $725 million in contributions to the organization’s regular budget for 2026, allowing the US administration to retain its voting rights in the General Assembly. Guterres’ second five-year term as secretary-general will end on December 31, and there is no clear successor to the post yet.
