• PA President Abbas calls on all states to follow suit
• Dar attends, but doesn’t address high-level moot
• PM due to meet Trump alongside Muslim leaders
• Palestine flag unfurled at London mission
NEW YORK: France and Monaco extended formal recognition to the State of Palestine at a high-level conference[1] on Monday.
“We must do everything within our power to preserve the very possibility of a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security,” French President Emmanuel Macron said before announcing the diplomatic move, drawing lengthy applause from the audience.
Macron outlined a framework for a “renewed Palestinian Authority” under which France would open an embassy subject to factors such as reforms, a ceasefire and the release of all remaining prisoners held in Gaza.
Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg and San Marino were also expected to recognise a Palestinian state ahead of this week’s UN General Assembly, after Australia, Britain, Canada, Portugal and Malta did so over the weekend.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who represented Pakistan at the conference, was not among the speakers — which included heads of state and government from countries such as Turkiye, Australia, Brazil and Canada, among others.
PM Shehbaz Sharif, who reached[2] New York on Monday, did not attend the meeting.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said that Pakistan actively participated in the conference. Taking to X, the foreign minister welcomed announcements regarding the recognition of Palestine by several countries.
Recalling that Pakistan was among the first countries to recognize the State of Palestine following its declaration of independence in 1988, he urged all countries that have not yet done so to take similar steps in line with their commitment to international law.
This call was echoed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who addressed the moot via video link after he was denied[3] a visa by the United States.
“We call on those who have not yet done so to follow suit. We call for your support so that Palestine becomes a full-fledged member of the United Nations,” he said, promising reforms and elections within a year of a ceasefire.
The conference with a focus on the two-state solution comes at a time when the Western powers in a break from their decades-old policy have agreed to recognise the Palestinian state. The UK, responsible for the 1917 Balfour Declaration that led to the creation of the State of Israel, also opened the Palestine embassy in London on Monday.
The high-level moot has followed a similar summit in July this year, where the New York Declaration was first drafted, and later adopted by the UN General Assembly on Sept 12.
Earlier in the day, FM Ishaq Dar took part in the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM) at UN Headquarters.
He also participated in consultations hosted by Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Other participants included the deputy prime ministers of Jordan and UAE, and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. He also met with his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand.
Meeting with Trump
PM Shehbaz will represent Pakistan at a multilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump, the White House and Pakistani diplomats said on Monday.
White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt did not specify the meeting’s agenda, but sources indicated that the Israeli war in Gaza would be the dominant topic.
The meeting will include leaders of eight Muslim majority countries, including Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan.
But Trump is expected to address the UN General Assembly ahead of the multilateral meeting. According to Ms Leavitt, the president will also touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward and constructive vision for the world.
Trump himself opposed the moves by Britain, Canada and Australia to recognize the state of Palestine, which France is due to follow on Monday.
“The president has been very clear he disagrees with this decision,” Leavitt said, noting that he had publicly done so[4] with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a UK state visit last week.
“Frankly, he believes it’s a reward to Hamas. So he believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies, and I think you’ll hear him talk about that tomorrow” at the UN, she added.
Flag-raising
Meanwhile, a day after it extended recognition to the state of Palestine, a flag-raising ceremony was held outside the Palestinian mission in London on Monday.
Head of Mission Husam Zomlot hailed the “long overdue” recognition as the flag was raised in front of a crowd outside the building in Hammersmith in west London.
Holding up a plaque reading ‘Embassy of the State of Palestine’, Mr Zomlot said it would be put up soon, “pending some legal work, some bureaucratic work”.
He called the recognition move an “acknowledgement of a historic injustice” at a time of “unimaginable suffering” for the Palestinian people in the war in Gaza.
He said the UK’s recognition had particular resonance as Britain was pivotal in laying the groundwork for the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, through the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Palestinian Authority could now “set up an embassy and an ambassador in the UK”.
Following Sunday’s announcement, Britain’s foreign ministry updated its travel advice page to remove the reference to “Occupied Palestinian territories”, replacing it with “Palestine”.
Input from AFP and Reuters
Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2025