UN chief eyes virtual visit to Britain

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will pay a virtual visit to London from Sunday, his first such online effort since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out early last year, his spokesman said Thursday.

The visit was originally planned to take place in person, but due to Britain's worsening public health situation, London instead arranged for a virtual meeting.

The UN chief's itinerary will include a Sunday event marking the 75th anniversary of the first session of the United Nations General Assembly, which was held at Central Hall in Westminster.

Guterres is expected to call for a renewed global partnership in the face of the challenges currently facing the world, according to his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

On Monday and Tuesday, he is set to participate in a session dedicated to the fight against climate change and will meet for bilateral talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his foreign minister Dominic Raab and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, according to Dujarric.

Other than private family trips to Portugal, his home country, Guterres -- whose term ends at the end of the year -- has hardly traveled since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

In December, he was able to make an official trip to Germany to speak to the Bundestag.

Some UN staff have already experimented with virtual tours, such as Guterres's assistant Amina Mohammed, who also paid an online "visit" to Colombia at the end of October.