Visit to New York and Washington: UN General Assembly and opening of the Council of Europe Observer Office

Secretary General Alain Berset will visit New York and Washington D.C., attending the UN General Assembly High-Level Week, opening the Council of Europe’s new Permanent Observer Office to the United Nations and holding high-level meetings and public discussions on multilateralism, democratic security and the international law-based order.

He will argue for stronger cooperation between international and regional organisations. During the New York leg of his visit, Alain Berset is due to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres and senior UN officials.

Meetings are also planned with high-level representatives of the African Union Commission, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as Council of Europe member states. He will attend the opening of the UN General Assembly General Debate on 22 September and participate in the UN side event “Delivering Social Rights, Renewing Democracy: From Doha and Chișinău to a New Democratic Pact for Europe”, co-organised by the Council of Europe.

In Washington, the Secretary General will meet senior elected representatives, address the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) and participate in public discussions at Georgetown University and the Hudson Institute. The visit comes as 2026 marks 30 years since the United States became an Observer State to the Council of Europe, providing an opportunity to look at the future of the transatlantic relationship as Europe assumes greater responsibility for its own security and democracies on both sides of the Atlantic confront new geopolitical and technological challenges.

Monday 21 September 2026 — New York

• Meeting with Mr Sultan bin Saad bin Sultan Al Muraikhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Qatar
• Meeting with Ms Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence Against Children
• Meeting with Ms Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs
• Meeting with Ms Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
• Meeting with Mr Tom Berendsen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
• Ministerial Side Event on Belarus organised at the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations
• Meeting with Mr António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
• Pull aside with Mr Andrii Sybiha, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
• Inauguration of the Council of Europe Office in New York, followed by a reception on the occasion of the opening of the Council of Europe Observer Office to the United Nations in New York
• P4M Summit: Partners for Multilateralism, International Law, Peace and Prosperity co-hosted by Mr António Costa, President of the European Council, Mr William Ruto, President of Kenya and Mr Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
• Working dinner with Mr Margus Tsahkna, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Estonia

Tuesday 22 September 2026 — New York

• Opening of the General Debate “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all”
• Meeting with Mr Peter Pellegrini, President of the Slovak Republic
• Meeting with Mr Mahmoud Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
• Meeting with Mr Nabil Fahmy, Secretary General of the League of Arab States
• Council of Europe side event “Delivering Social Rights, Renewing Democracy: From Doha and Chișinău to a New Democratic Pact for Europe”
• Meeting with Mr Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)
• Interview with Al Jazeera Arab Service
• Working dinner at the invitation of Mr Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg

Wednesday 23 September 2026 — New York

• High-Level Side Event “The Sixth Summit of the International Crimea Platform: A Test of Unity, a Call for Action”
• Meeting with Mr Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia
• Interview with Al Jazeera English
• Meeting with Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, U.S. Department of State
• Meeting with Ms María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus
• Interview with Newsweek
• Interview with Wall Street Journal

Thursday 24 September 2026 — Washington, D.C.

• Bilateral meeting with Mr Steve Daines, United States Senator (R-Montana), Chair, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation
• Georgetown University Event / A Conversation with Mr Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
• Interview with social media expert from Georgetown University
• Bilateral meeting with Mr John Boozman, United States Senator (R-Arkansas), member of the Helsinki Commission
• Bilateral meeting with United States Congressman Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), Co-Chair, Helsinki Commission; Head of the US delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly; senior member of House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services
• Meeting with Mr Keith Self, United States Representative (R-Texas), Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Europe Subcommittee
• Dinner hosted by Mr Ralf Heckner, Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States

Friday 25 September 2026 — Washington, D.C.

• Bilateral meeting with Ms Debbie Seguin, Acting Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Media interview with The Hill
• Media interview with Voice of America (VOA)
• Hudson Institute / A Conversation with Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
• Bilateral meeting with Mr Albert Ramdin, Secretary General of the Organization of American States
• Exchange with the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS)
• Visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Live interview with BBC TV News Channel