President Cyril Ramaphosa will later today, Tuesday, 09 March 2021, participate virtually in an informal leaders’ network meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

The meeting forms part of the United Nations programme marking the 75th anniversary of the intergovernmental organisation.

The UN Secretary-General has been requested to follow up on implementation of the Declaration on the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN75) and to report on his findings before the end of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2021.

The Declaration was adopted on 21 September 2020 on the eve of the General Debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA75).

Today’s session is at the invitation of President Pedro Sánchez of Spain and Prime Minister Stefan Löfvén of Sweden and is a follow-up to the Leaders’ Network held in Madrid on 10 November 2020.

The meeting affords the Secretary-General an opportunity to share his assessment of current global challenges and opportunities and to set out priorities for the way forward.

It will also provide for an informal exchange of views among the UN75 Leaders’ Network and the Secretary-General on how to deal with the most critical global challenges.

The meeting is expected to identify how the Network can support the Secretary-General in the implementation of the UN75 Declaration.

The meeting follows International Women’s Day and is expected to discuss the importance of accelerating gender equality, women’s participation, and the empowerment of women and girls in all domains as stipulated in the UN75 Declaration.

The meeting is also expected to discuss how to show leadership on climate change through actions that support the UN’s efforts for climate change on the road to COP26 UN Climate Summit; the role of international cooperation to tackle rising inequalities within and between countries; initiatives on global health and to strengthen resilience to future pandemics, including ensuring global access to vaccines; and how, at 75, the UN can strengthen multilateralism and the rules-based international order for the coming 75 years.

Media are invited to cover the virtual meeting which will be also streamed on the Presidency’s digital platforms as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 09 March 2021
Time: 21h00 - 22h30
Where: @Presidency Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Media enquiries:
Tyrone Seale
E-mail: media@presidency.gov.za