Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will lead Pakistan delegation to 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York from Monday.

The annual gathering of the 193-member body will give Pakistan an opportunity to engage multilaterally and bilaterally to advance its priorities in diverse areas.

The Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders and the secretary general of the UN, the foreign office announced.

The annual session of the General Assembly has special significance as is attended by a large number of Heads of the state and the government.

The regular session of the UNGA began on September 12, and the General Debate will open on September 19, with a focus on the theme, “Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet.”

On the sidelines of the General Assembly Session, the Prime Minister will address the Council on Foreign Relations besides interacting with the US Pakistan Business Council.

The Prime Minister will also have extensive interaction with the international media. On the margins of the session, Ministerial level meetings of many regional and sub-regional organizations will be held. A meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir will also be held.

“Pakistan is a great advocate of multilateralism and the United Nations to promote collective responses to the multifaceted challenges of global peace, security and development,” said the statement.

It said Pakistan would continue its constructive role and engagement at the UN with a view to protecting and promoting its national interests, “including on core issues such as Jammu and Kashmir, reform of the Security Council, counter-terrorism, human rights, peacekeeping, and a host of development and other matters.”