Rouhani to Attend UN Meeting

The presidential chief of staff announced on Tuesday President Hassan Rouhani will visit the UN headquarters in New York later this month to attend the 72nd United Nations General Assembly. "We are planning the trip by the president to New York," Mahmoud Vaezi told reporters on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, IRNA reported. According to a preliminary list of speakers posted on the UNGA website, Rouhani is due to deliver a speech to the assembly's gathering of world leaders, known as the General Debate, on September 20. Scores of heads of state and government are going to attend the annual gathering that convenes from September 19 to 25. It follows the opening of the UN General Assembly on September 12, which usually lasts until December or January. Rouhani, who was reelected in a landslide in May, has attended all annual General Debate gatherings since 2013. Vaezi also said the president will pay a visit to Kazakhstan next week and his tour of African countries is expected soon.