China, Pakistan, Middle East & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (17 July 2026) | United Nations

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

• Secretary-General/China
• Deputy Secretary-General
• Pakistan
• Middle East
• Lebanon
• Occupied Palestinian Territory
• Democratic Republic Of The Congo
• Venezuela
• Nelson Mandela International Day

SECRETARY-GENERAL/CHINA

This morning, in Shanghai, the Secretary-General addressed the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference. He said that Artificial Intelligence can be humanity’s greatest opportunity in the 21st century, and it could also become one of its greatest risks.

The Secretary-General underscored that the technology that will shape the future of humanity must be shaped by all humanity, and it cannot be governed by a handful of countries or a handful of companies. He pointed out that few areas hold greater promise for our common future than the application of AI to sustainable development, but it won’t happen if the historical injustices of the past are repeated in the technologies of the future.

Also in the morning, the Secretary-General toured an exhibition of China's MAZU meteorological AI early-warning system. In the afternoon, he attended the World Artificial Intelligence Conference Meteorological Forum. In his remarks, he noted that the Forum shows one of the clearest ways AI can serve humanity: by helping save lives.

The Secretary-General said that early-warning systems are the most cost-effective protection against climate disaster. He noted that 128 countries now have multi-hazard early-warning systems, more than double since 2015, but one-third remain unprotected.

The Secretary-General stressed that we urgently need to accelerate, and artificial intelligence can help.

Also today, the Secretary-General met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Secretary-General thanked President Xi for China’s consistent support for multilateralism and the United Nations and its activities, including peacekeeping.

The Secretary-General reaffirmed his strong commitment to UN reform, fully in line with the UN Charter and International Law, and full respect for the equilibrium among the three pillars of the United Nations activities: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights, and to enhance the cooperation with China in all of them.

The Secretary-General also held a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL

The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will be arriving shortly in Sierra Leone, at the invitation of the Government, to participate in the 69th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Summit on the Future of Regional Integration.

The Deputy Secretary-General will address the Summit and participate in discussions on the economic, development and security priorities of the region. She will reaffirm the United Nations’ strong partnership with ECOWAS and its support for regional efforts to strengthen peace and security, economic cooperation and regional integration, while accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

While in Sierra Leone, the Deputy Secretary-General will hold bilateral meetings with leaders attending the Summit and other senior officials.  

She will return to New York on Monday.

PAKISTAN

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, is wrapping-up a visit to Pakistan today, which was focused on climate risk, disaster preparedness and resilience.

Today, he visited Hassanabad Nala, a flood-affected village near the Shisper Glacier in Gilgit-Baltistan, where he met residents and saw projects helping communities prepare for recurring climate-related hazards. He also visited the Hunza Solar Project, highlighting the opportunities to build resilience through clean energy.

Throughout his visit, Mr. Fletcher stressed that Pakistan is on the front line of the climate crisis, while also demonstrating practical approaches from which other climate-vulnerable countries can learn.

He called for stronger international support to help countries prepare for, and respond to, disasters.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-07-17