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PRESIDENT WELCOMES AGREEMENT BETWEEN ERITREA & ETHIOPIA

• On Twitter, the President between the leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia, and their agreement to end their state of war.
• He wished both Governments good luck with the work ahead.

PRESIDENT SENDS CONDOLENCES TO JAPAN FOLLOWING FLOODS

• On Japan, the President said he was there and saddened by the high death toll. He sent his deepest condolences to the Japanese Government.
• He added, ¡°Having served in Tokyo, I know how resilient the Japanese people are and stand with them at this difficult time.¡±

LAST ROÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵD OF MIGRATION COMPACT TALKS STARTS TODAY

• On the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the sixth and final round of talks started today and will last all this week.
• Today and tomorrow, delegations will have the opportunity to share comments on any remaining issues that need clarification. A final text will be then be presented by Wednesday evening, so that delegations have time to consult with their capitals.
• That final text is then expected to be agreed this Friday.
• The latest revised draft is currently available online.
• Asked whether the President would participate in the talks this week, the Spokesperson said that the President expected to be present on Friday during the ¡°gavelling moment¡± following the document¡¯s finalization. He was also expected to give a press conference following the gavelling, so that the media understood what had just been agreed. More details on the press conference would be shared shortly.
• Asked for the President¡¯s views on the importance of the Global Compact, the Spokesperson said migration had been one of the President¡¯s key priorities since the start of his presidency. Currently, he felt that migration was being handled in a very national and reactive fashion. He therefore saw the finalization of the Global Compact as an urgent test for the United Nations.
• The President believed it was important to have an international understanding of what migration meant and how it could be made safe, orderly, regular and beneficial for everyone. He continues to push for Member States to come together and agree on the first ever global framework on migration.
• The Spokesperson was asked whether the Global Compact would be agreed by consensus and how that was affected by the United States¡¯ decision not to participate in the process. The Spokesperson replied that the President had expressed regret when the United States had decided to withdraw from the process. However, all other Member States were moving ahead. The Spokesperson said that there would not be a vote on this non-binding document this week.
• Elaborating further, the Spokesperson noted that the Global Compact would serve to enhance international cooperation on migration and as a common framework from which Member States could draw, as they formed their own national policies. He reminded journalists that Member States would continue to determine their own migration policies.
• Asked how the Global Compact could be agreed upon without a vote, the Spokesperson said a final text would be presented by Wednesday evening, so that delegations could have time to consult with their capitals. He reiterated that this was the sixth round of international negotiations and that Member States had already been engaging in discussions and providing inputs for quite some time. By Friday, it was expected that Member States would be able to confirm that they were firmly on board with the final text. The idea was to have a document that Member States would support and stand behind.

PRESIDENT MEETS WITH CHAIR OF CIVIL SOCIETY CONFERENCE

• The President met this morning with Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International and Chair of the .
• They spoke about preparations for the 67th DPI/NGO Conference, which is organized by the Department of Public Information (DPI) and its partners, and which will open on 22 August.

TREATY ON PROHIBITION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AN IMPORTANT STEP

• Over the weekend, the President noted that Saturday since the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons had been adopted by 122 States.
• He said he welcomed the adoption as an important step towards our collective goal of a world without nuclear weapons.