Photo taken on Aug. 20, 2020 shows the Security Council meeting on the situation in Somalia at the UN headquarters in New York. Somalia, like the rest of the world, is focused on confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, said the top UN envoy for the country on Thursday. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Niger, the current president of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, said Tuesday it will organize a September 24 videoconference between heads of state to discuss the future of global governance following the coronavirus pandemic.

The summit will debate "post-COVID-19 global governance in relation to the maintenance of international peace and security," Niger's UN Ambassador Abdou Abarry told journalists while presenting the Council's program for the month.

The session will take place during the annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders, which will take place in 2020 mainly by videoconference due to the pandemic.

"This will be an opportunity for our leaders to have political discussions on the need to adapt the current international system embodied by the United Nations and the Security Council in order to effectively face traditional threats to security such as conflicts, but also new threats such as organized crime and pandemics," Abarry said.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou will chair the summit, with participation by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, Abarry said.

When asked about the attendance of US President Donald Trump, who often opposes multilateralism and cooperation with international organizations, the ambassador said "we expect the participation of all heads of state and they will all receive an invitation from the president of Niger."

AFP