Pope Francis, Raul Castro To Address UN
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NEW YORK (CBSMiami) - President Barack Obama, Pope Francis and Cuban leader Raul Castro are all scheduled to speak at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
As part of the pontiff's first trip to the United States, the he will address the 70th regular session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on September 25th.
The General Debate of the 70th Session of the UNGA will take place from September 28th through October 6th.
Presidents Obama and Castro are both scheduled to address the UNGA on September 28th, according to the Associated Press. This will be Castro's first trip to the United States as president and first time addressing the UNGA.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are also among the first day's speakers.
Just two weeks ago, Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Havana for the historic ceremonial raising of the American flag outside the U.S. embassy.
The U.S. and Cuba had broken diplomatic ties in 1961, years after relations between both countries had worsened in the 1959 Cuban Revolution.
On December 17, 2014, President Barack Obama along with Cuban leader Raul Castro announced renewed diplomatic relations between the two countries. Pope Francis played a role in bringing the two leaders to the table to talk.
In April of this year, President Obama met Cuban President Raul Castro in Panama. It was the first face to face meeting between leaders of the two countries in nearly six decades.
Castro took over the leadership of Cuba from his brother Fidel in 2008 who spent decades in power.
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