Canberra: Australia and New Zealand are set to make a significant diplomatic move by officially recognizing the State of Palestine during the upcoming 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced this decision, emphasizing the country's commitment to the two-state solution and the rights of the Palestinian people to their own independent state.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Albanese highlighted that the recognition aims to go beyond symbolic gestures and actively contribute to advancing the Middle East peace process. In a related development, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters revealed that his government, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, also plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state. This decision will be presented during the UN Leaders' Week.
This development comes in the wake of the High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Issue and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The conference, chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French Republic, saw several nations, including France, the UK, Malta, and Canada, expressing their intentions to recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming UN General Assembly session.
