Jean Asselborn Addresses Middle Eastern Events, Israel-Palestine Two-State Solution at UN General Assembly in New York

Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn participated in the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, from 23 to 25 September 2018 in New York.

Numerous Heads of State and Government as well as Foreign Ministers of the 193 UN Member States attended this session, including Jean Asselborn as representative of Luxembourg. Minister Asselborn co-hosted a ministerial dinner on the Middle East, held on 23 September at the International Peace Institute (IPI) and brought together several foreign ministers from the European Union and Arab countries, special representatives of the United Nations Secretary-General active in the Middle East, secretaries-general of other international organisations, officials of UNRWA and ICRC and other humanitarian actors engaged in the region.

The discussions focused on current events in the Middle East, notably addressing situations in Syria, Libya and Iraq, as well as ways to revive the peace process in the Middle East, particularly through the establishment of a multilateral mechanism covering the entire Middle East and North Africa.

On 24 September, Jean Asselborn attended the opening of the "Nelson Mandela Peace Summit" and participated in the informal meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers on Libya and Syria, before return to the traditional reception offered by the President of the United States as UN host country, Donald Trump.

Beyond the UN General Assembly, the Luxembourg head of diplomacy took the opportunity to increase trade on international issues as well as holding talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Discussions focused on elements that could help revive the peace process with Israel, "which only bears the name". Confirming the readiness of Luxembourg to encourage international efforts in this direction, Jean Asselborn reaffirmed the support of the Grand Duchy for the implementation of the two-state solution, stressing in particular that colonisation is "illegal under international law and threatens the viability of the two-state solution". In this context, he stressed the importance of the effective implementation of Security Council resolution 2334 adopted in December 2016.

Similarly, Minister Asselborn had several bilateral interviews to strengthen cooperation between Luxembourg and its partners on the international scene. In this context, he and the Foreign Minister of Uruguay, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, signed a bilateral agreement on air services.