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Latin Times
Latin Times
Politics
Clara Espinoza

Who's Actually Speaking for Africa at the UN This Week — and Who Sent Someone Else

United Nations Africa Abdel Fattah elSisi Bola Tinubu Kashim Shettima Cyril Ramaphosa Egypt UNGA Nigeria South Africa
Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, China's President Xi Jinping, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu attend the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2024. (Credit: Photo by Ludovic MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Three of the Africa's heavyweight economies won't have their presidents in the room this week. Nigeria's Bola Tinubu, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa and Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi are all staying away from the UN General Assembly's 81st general debate, which opens Tuesday. In their place: a vice president, a foreign minister and a prime minister.

The absences land in the middle of what the UN is billing as a make-or-break week for institutional credibility, as a closed-door race to replace Secretary-General António Guterres plays out alongside the speeches.

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