World leaders address UN General Assembly in New York

Ban Ki-moon, Obama, Erdogan to speak as the United Nations opens the general debate of the 71st session of its General Assembly.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the UN General Assembly. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the UN General Assembly.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The United Nations opened the general debate of the 71st session of its General Assembly on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York, with the leaders of over 30 members states addressing the plenum.
Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was slated to give the opening address at his last meeting of the UNGA in the post before leaving office at the end of the year.
US President Barack Obama is also due to give his last speech as the American commander-in-chief to the assembly on Monday.
Other heads of state addressing the main policy-making organ of the UN include, French President Francois Hollande, Jordanian King Abdullah, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi.
The event is scheduled to run until next Monday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Tuesday afternoon for a five-day trip to New York, where he will meet with Obama on Wednesday, address the General Assembly on Thursday and meet that same day with Ban.
Netanyahu’s office has not yet put out a list of the other leaders – with the exception of Ban – with whom he will be meeting on the sidelines of the UN meeting, although the prime minister said at Sunday’s cabinet meeting that they will include some African leaders.
Herb Keinon contributed to this report.