Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to attend a meeting with US President Donald Trump and a select group of Muslim leaders next week in New York, on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session. The Foreign Office (FO) announced on Sunday that the gathering will serve as a platform to exchange views on pressing issues related to regional and international peace and security.
This upcoming interaction could mark the first direct engagement between Prime Minister Sharif and President Trump since the latter assumed office in January. The FO statement highlighted that the Prime Minister would lead Pakistan’s delegation to the high-level segment of the UNGA, commencing September 22, 2025, accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior officials.
During his address to the UNGA, Prime Minister Sharif is expected to advocate for the international community to address situations of prolonged occupation and the denial of the right to self-determination, specifically highlighting the disputed Kashmir region and Palestine. He will also draw attention to the grave crisis in Gaza, urging decisive action to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, the Prime Minister will present Pakistan’s perspective on regional security, climate change, terrorism, Islamophobia, and sustainable development.
On the margins of the UNGA, Prime Minister Sharif is slated to participate in several high-level events, including important sessions of the UN Security Council, a meeting of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), and a special event on Climate Action. He is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with various world leaders and senior UN officials to discuss matters of mutual interest. The FO underscored Pakistan’s commitment to multilateralism and its role as a current member of the Security Council, working to uphold the UN Charter, prevent conflict, and foster global prosperity.
The meeting between President Trump and Muslim leaders, including PM Shehbaz, comes amidst significant recent developments in the Middle East. Earlier this month, an Israeli strike in Doha, Qatar, resulted in the deaths of five Hamas officials and a Qatari security officer. This incident drew widespread international condemnation, even from Gulf monarchies allied with the United States and Qatar.
Subsequently, Arab and Muslim leaders convened an emergency Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) joint session in Doha, co-sponsored by Pakistan, calling for a review of ties with Israel. Their joint statement urged all states to take legal and effective measures to prevent Israel from continuing its actions against the Palestinian people.
President Trump, who had a dinner with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in New York following the Doha attack, initially expressed displeasure over the strike. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later affirmed that the US would not alter its relationship with Israel. Some analysts suggest that Israel’s actions against Qatar have potentially undermined US credibility in the Middle East, leading some Arab nations to seek alternative security assurances.
In a related development this week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” in Riyadh, pledging that any attack on either nation would be considered an act of aggression against both.
