SUBMARINE SPAT
Many leaders chose to send video messages instead, however.
French President Emmanuel Macron initially said he would attend, before opting to send a video message that was to be played the day after US President Joe Biden spoke.
But now, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will speak on Monday for France, whose presence all week was overshadowed by a spat with the US over a mega submarine deal with Australia.
The address will be delivered via a pre-recorded video message, despite Le Drian being at the UN for five days this week.
“It is rare for one of the five permanent members of the Security Council to intervene on the last day. I’ve never seen it,” said a European diplomat, on condition of anonymity.
But despite the tensions and concern over a growing lack of mutual trust among the international community, Shahid said that this year’s General Assembly led him “to the conclusion that we all share the same concerns and wish the same outcome”.
Washington, fearing that the event would be a hotbed for COVID-19, had tried to dissuade leaders from travelling to New York, where a vaccine mandate is in place.
Strict rules over masks and social distancing were imposed, with only seven people per delegation allowed. However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was flanked by 20 people when he walked the corridors of the UN.
Ultimately, only four positive cases were reported, all in the delegation of Brazil, whose president Jair Bolsonaro is a vaccine sceptic, although his wife did receive a shot while in the Big Apple.
The restrictions meant that on the first day of the debate, only 1,929 people passed through the security gates at the UN, compared to 26,000 in 2019, according to the world body.
In all, by the end of the General Assembly, more than 200 speeches will have been delivered, many focusing on international collaboration on climate change and COVID-19.
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