The two-week long 76th Session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will begin today in New York City.

The opening will serve as a preview for UNGA’s so-called General Debate, when leaders and delegations of the UN’s 192 members gather in New York. US efforts to repeat last 2020’s virtual format due to COVID-19 concerns failed, and each nation will be allowed a five-person delegation. The opening also marks the start of Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid’s tenure as President of UNGA.