By Clint Chan Tack Saturday, September 26 2009

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HEMISPHERIC MEETINGS: Prime Minister Manning, fourth from right, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Paula Gopee-Scoon, third from right, met with Chilean...

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PRIME MINISTER Patrick Manning will address the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in New York today.

Interestingly, Manning was preceded yesterday by several world leaders who will be attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago in November.

Pakistan President Ali Asif Zadari, Nauru President, Stephen Marcus, and Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer were all scheduled to address the General Assembly yesterday.

Kuwait Prime Minister Nasser Al-Mohammad Al Jaber Al Sabah and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe were also slated to address the Assembly yesterday.

Al Sabah was due to pay a State visit to TT next month, but the visit was postponed at the request of the Kuwaiti government to a future date. Mugabe will not be attending the CHOGM because Zimbabwe’s membership in the Commonwealth has been suspended.

While in New York, Manning has met with Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamlesh Sharma to continue discussions on CHOGM preparations, also, other issues such as the world financial crisis, which will be discussed at CHOGM.

Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, who accompanied Manning to New York, met with her Commonwealth counterparts on Thursday to discuss the Commonwealth’s efforts in the global anti-terrorism effort. That meeting was chaired by Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa.

Today, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will meet in New York to review developments in the Fiji Islands since it last met in July, and Fiji’s suspension from the Commonwealth on September 1.

The CMAG deals with persistent, or serious violations of the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values.

Today’s address by Manning to the UN General Assembly will be one of the last diplomatic engagements he will be involved in before he returns home tomorrow (Sunday).

Since arriving in New York, Manning held bilateral discussions with several leaders including Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (who will also be coming to TT for CHOGM), participated in some other meetings at the UN and opened offices for the new consulate general there.