UN General Assembly opens debate on key issues Tuesday

UNITED NATIONS - Some 70 world leaders, including Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, and a number of foreign ministers will debate issues of war

and peace when the UN General Assembly meets on Tuesday against the backdrop of continuing conflicts and violence as well as the struttering global campaign to end poverty.

The 192-member assembly has already approved a more than 160-item agenda that includes global food and energy crisis, questions of international peace and security, sustainable development, human rights, development in Africa, humanitarian assistance, justice and international law, disarmament and the fight against drugs, crime and terrorism. It also includes many organizational and administrative matters.

Among the heads of state and government taking part inthe general debate are President George W. Bush, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Chinese Prime Minister  Wen Jiabao, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

President Zardari will address the assembly on September 25. He will meet a number of heads of state and government, including President Bush on Sept. 23, during his five-day stay here under the shadow of Saturday's brutal terrorist attack in Islamabad. The President will also launch his "Friend of Pakistan" initiative aimed at providing critically-needed economic assistance to Pakistan, besides a number of other engagements.  The G-8 countriesâ€" France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canadaâ€" China, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) will participate in the conference to be held on Sept 26..

The session formally opened on Sept 16 when it elected its new president, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a leftist who was a former foreign minister of Nicaragua.