President Al-Zubaidi Concludes Successful Visit to the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

[New York City, 22 September, 2023] — President Aidarous Qassem Al-Zubaidi, President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and Vice-Chairman of Yemen’s governing Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), along with his accompanying delegation, concluded a successful visit to New York City, participating in the proceedings of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

In the High-Level week of UNGA, President Al-Zubaidi had productive high-level meetings with world leaders, Ministers, UN Agencies and policymakers. The visit was an important step to ensuring that a lasting solution to the Yemen conflict was a priority on the international agenda, as well as towards fostering a coordinated effort to tackle the root causes of the crisis.

President Al-Zubaidi emphasized that the only path to sustainable peace was through an inclusive and comprehensive peace plan, led by those on the ground, and including addressing the Southern cause from the onset. The solution for ending the conflict and the Southern question could not be separated: one was not possible without the other. President Zubaidi made it clear that the Southern question could not be delayed or handled after other aspects of the political process given the acute needs and risks on the ground, including that of an expanded threat of Iran all the way to the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb.

The engagements at UNGA have helped build constructive relationships with numerous distinguished leaders, through key meetings with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, H.E. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, among others. These relationships will only further amplify the voice of the Southern people.

Departing from the United Nations Headquarters, President Zubaidi stated:

"My inaugural visit to the UN General Assembly has been a deeply impactful and meaningful experience. I have had enlightening and informative dialogue with leaders from around the world. My message was the same to every person that I met: the only viable solution to the conflict is an inclusive and comprehensive political process under the UN's auspices. This process must include a mechanism for the Southern people to determine their own destiny, as is their right under international law."

"This is a critical moment for my country. To secure a durable end to the conflict requires urgent recalibration of the political process. This includes our proposal forinternational peace keeping forces to protect a ceasefire agreement that in turns enables a credible and inclusive negotiated process. We have a small window of opportunity to end the war for good, to bring back the economy and trade, to bring our people back out into the sunshine, to put a smile back on the faces of our children, and to re-enter the international fold. We must seize this moment.”