Al-Zaidi and world leaders in New York: The Middle East and artificial intelligence top the agenda at the United Nations meetings.

Al-Zaidi and world leaders in New York: The Middle East and artificial intelligence top the agenda at the United Nations meetings.

2026-09-20

Al-Zaidi and world leaders in New York - The Middle East and artificial intelligence top the agenda at the United Nations meetingsShafaq News – Follow-up
Around 130 heads of state and government are participating in the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York this week, amid anticipation of US President Donald Trump’s attendance for the second year in a row, and at a time when the widening scope of conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, along with the risks of artificial intelligence, top the agenda of international discussions.

The meetings are taking place amid increasing pressure on the post-World War II international order, as the United Nations struggles to maintain its role and influence amid criticism from Trump, who has cut US contributions and withdrawn from dozens of UN agencies.

Iraq is represented at these meetings by Prime Minister Ali al-Zubaidi, who is expected to hold an important meeting with the US President to request a postponement of any US measures that may target the imposition of financial or economic sanctions on Baghdad, due to the failure to resolve the issue of restricting the weapons of armed factions to the state after the deadline set for September 30, according to a source who spoke to Shafaq News Agency on Saturday.

Al-Zaidi had visited the United States in mid-July, at the head of a high-level delegation that included a number of ministers, government officials, members of parliament, and businessmen, on an official visit that lasted five days.

Globally, Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping the New York meetings, opting instead for bilateral talks with Trump in Washington on Thursday. Xi participated in the General Assembly via video link in 2021, sparking debate at the time about the UN’s ability to address global crises.

The crisis of confidence and funding further complicates questions about the next Secretary-General of the 80-year-old organization, as Antonio Guterres’ term ends at the end of 2026, with no clear frontrunner to succeed him.

Diplomats said the 15-member UN Security Council may hold high-level meetings on Ukraine, artificial intelligence and the Middle East, including talks with Arab leaders.

Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said that more than a year after Trump’s return to the White House, “we no longer say that the United Nations is in free fall, but we say that it is stuck in an open-ended crisis.”

Juan drew a parallel to the organization’s current situation, saying: “The United Nations may not be in as critical a state as it was last year, but it looks as though it will remain stuck in the critical care unit indefinitely.”

The United States avoided losing its voting rights in the General Assembly after paying $725 million of its contributions to the regular budget a few days ago, but it still owes more than $1 billion of its allocated share of the budget, while continuing to demand spending cuts and reforms within the international organization.

The Middle East

The Middle East remains a major focus of discussions, at a time when the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to the article, continues to affect global inflation rates and destabilize the region.

The recent gains made by the Houthi group in Yemen also threaten shipping through the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait, which could exacerbate rising energy prices.

Guterres said: “It is extremely difficult to find a military solution to this problem, and the experience of fighting in Yemen has demonstrated the complexity of achieving successes through military intervention,” adding that the UN envoy to Yemen is making “a tremendous effort” to move the talks forward.

But talks to end the war remain stalled, amid continued exchanges of fire between Iran and the United States and Trump’s threat of escalation.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak on Thursday.

Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, while Israel denies committing such crimes.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not attend the UN General Assembly meetings in person for the second year in a row, after the United States, a close ally of Israel, refused to grant him a visa again. The General Assembly voted on Thursday to allow Abbas to address the assembly via video link.

Diplomats said a high-level meeting on the conflict in Sudan is also likely to be held on the sidelines of the General Assembly meetings, but the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough appear limited.

Ukraine

The General Assembly’s agenda also includes the Russian war in Ukraine, which has been ongoing for more than four years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are scheduled to address the General Assembly, with diplomats saying Zelensky will likely seek to bolster his country’s position before another winter expected to be difficult.

The Security Council was unable to take action to end the conflict because Russia, a permanent member of the Council, had veto power.

Trump sometimes appeared frustrated by his inability to broker an end to the war, a goal he had identified as a priority when he began his second presidential term in January of last year.

The US president spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this month, but it was unclear whether Putin planned to meet with Zelensky in New York.

Guterres highlighted the impact of the war on civilians, as well as on food security and energy prices.

He said: “The de facto blockade in place in the Black Sea is creating enormous problems that are compounded by the problems caused by the crisis in the Middle East. I think it will be very important to find a way to allow Ukraine and Russia to resume exports of food, fertilizers and energy through the Black Sea in a safe manner.”

artificial intelligence

The General Assembly meetings are taking place shortly after a number of top leaders in the artificial intelligence sector called for a coordinated slowdown in the development of this technology, warning that it could soon become capable of developing itself autonomously and slipping out of human control.

Guterres said artificial intelligence would be a key topic on the agenda, adding that countries moving forward with developing this technology must put in place “common controls to avoid this race to the bottom that could one day lead to a massive global catastrophe.”

The UN Secretary-General has long called for a global framework for AI governance, and in 2023 the UN established an advisory body on the technology, comprising technology executives, government officials, and academics.

These warnings sparked a dispute between Guterres and Trump, who described the risks associated with artificial intelligence as a “hoax,” saying there was a “sick conspiracy” against the sector, and that China would benefit from questioning its development.

shafaq.com