Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is currently out of state attending the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly which is being convened at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Dr. Gonsalves left the state on Saturday 21st September leading a 4-member delegation, that is expected to be engaged in a number of events and bi-lateral meetings over the course of the one week High-Level Session.
On Monday, Prime Minister Gonsalves addressed a High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage and also attended the Climate Action Summit and the ALBA-TCP Political Council meeting, where he presented the political declaration.
There were also bilateral meetings with High-Level representatives from a number of countries including the Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varad-kar, the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, the Vice President of Cote d’Ivoire Daniel Kablan Duncan and the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
During this mission, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is also expected to establish diplomatic relations with at least two countries and engage in discussions with a number of representatives from other countries on a range of issues.
The 74th General Assembly Session is the first meeting of the 193-member body that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is attending since being elected by 185 members to serve as a non-permanent member on the United Nations Security Council for 2020-2021.
Dr Gonsalves is expected to address the General Assembly on Friday afternoon during the general debate, which got on the way today in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations.
On Saturday 28th September, Prime Minister Gonsalves will host a Town Hall Meeting where he will engage Vincentians living in the New York area.
The other members of the Vincentian delegation are: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sir Louis Straker, Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves and the Prime Minister’s wife, Eloise Gonsalves. Dr. Gonsalves is expected to return to the State on Tuesday October 1st.
In the absence of the Prime Minister, Minister of Housing, Montgomery Daniel is serving as Acting Prime Minister.
