Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif is leaving for New York today as head of the Saudi delegation to the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.
The crown prince will address the UN General Assembly, which brings together some 135 heads of state and government in addition to dozens of ministers.
The crown prince’s visit to the US comes at the direction of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
The crown prince is expected to meet US President Barack Obama to discuss bilateral relations and political issues in the region, including Yemen, Syria and counterterrorism efforts.
Before the world leaders begin their traditional speeches on Tuesday, the 193-member General Assembly will meet on Monday to adopt a political declaration on migrants and refugees.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said there would be more than 1,100 bilateral meetings between leaders on the sidelines of the weeklong gathering.
This will be the last session for both Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Both of them are scheduled to retire around the end of this year.
Ahead of the meeting, Ban said: “While many conflicts are causing enormous pain, none is causing so much death, destruction and widespread instability as the worsening war in Syria. Major countries with influence have a duty to use their influence and seize this latest opportunity to pursue a political solution.”
Members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which includes Russia and the United States, are likely to meet on the sidelines on Tuesday. The UN Security Council is due to hold a high-level meeting on Syria on Wednesday.
The world powers will also meet to discuss the implementation of a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Source: Arab News