UN General Assembly 2024: Which Middle East leaders are speaking and when?

World leaders are gathering in New York this week for the annual United Nations General Assembly general debate, and the agenda among heads of state from the Middle East is likely to be focused on Israel's war on Gaza and the latest Israeli escalatory attacks on Lebanon.

No gathering in world politics attracts more heavyweights during its first week.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden made his final appearance at the yearly summit as he will be ending his mandate this year.

The Democrat sought to lay out his foreign policy accomplishments despite the devastation in Gaza and the growing threat of Israel invading Lebanon.

The General Assembly is a core component of the UN with manifold duties, including overseeing voting for new members, choosing non-permanent members of the UN Security Council and playing a part in electing the UN secretary general.

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It also gives observer status to non-member states and blocs including Palestine and the European Union, whose speakers can address the assembly.

What's happening this week?

The theme for this year's General Assembly debate is: "Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations".

But don't expect world leaders to stick to the theme. Most leaders from across the Middle East will promote whatever international issue is at the top of the agenda for their country.

Many speakers will not stick to the allotted 15-minute time slot. Frequently they go over that time limit, although no one will likely beat the performance of the late Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, who clocked up an impressive four hours in September 1960.

What's the schedule?

Morning debating sessions run from 9 am EST (that's four hours behind GMT) until 2:45pm. The afternoon session begins at 3pm and ends at 9pm. You can catch live coverage here. An archive of speeches so far this week is being updated onto the United Nations website and a full list of speakers will be updated here.

World leaders have complicated lives, so the running order below may change, especially if, as mentioned above, speakers go over their time.

The position in brackets refers to where in the order of each session the speaker is due to take to the podium.