There are two opposing theses about ItB次元官网网址檚 a place that shows the true power of words, where leaders inspire action with rousing speeches on the urgent issues of our times; or itB次元官网网址檚 a talking shop, where leaders perform for domestic audiences with political rhetoric on the cause of the day.

These dueling viewpoints were tested when the shut down much in-person diplomacy for several years. After three years of virtual, then hybrid General Debates, the scores of top leaders who attended the annual U.N. summit this week exhibited the return of in-person diplomacy, and provided ammunition to those who advocate for its importance.

It wasnB次元官网网址檛 just drama, like whether Ukrainian President in the presence of RussiaB次元官网网址檚 top diplomat (the two ultimately did not cross paths).

Many of the formal speeches delivered before the green stone in the General Assembly could have been performed straight to camera, with few other people in the room (and in 2020, they were). More than the speeches, at the heart of the annual meetings is the face-to-face interaction between leaders. And as important to day-to-day relations between countries is the face-to-face interaction between lower-level staff, shown this year as diplomatic delegations and non-governmental organizations packed the U.N. headquarters and hotels and meeting spaces nearby.

The diplomatic agreements worked out in informal interactions have been key to accomplishments that werenB次元官网网址檛 formally laid out in the U.N.B次元官网网址檚 founding document B次元官网网址� activities like peacekeeping in recent years and decolonization decades ago, said , a professor of political science and international relations at Adelphi University.

Much of the world looks at the General Assembly like a world government body, she said, and ignores the less high-profile work thatB次元官网网址檚 advanced in behind-the-scenes interactions.

B次元官网网址淧eople expect governance but thatB次元官网网址檚 not really what the U.N. does,B次元官网网址� she said. The General Assembly, she said, actually B次元官网网址渙vershadows what the U.N. does well.B次元官网网址�

Side meetings on themes running from to peace were taking place throughout the week. In-person relations are as important, if not more so, for non-governmental organizations with stakes in the outcomes, attendees said.

The La Jolla, California-based works on ocean conservation and during the pandemic, B次元官网网址渨e were all on Zoom, of course B次元官网网址� it actually served an enormously important function,B次元官网网址� in communicating with the small island nations where Waitt does much of its work, said executive director Kathryn Mengerink.

However, real life is not B次元官网网址渉ow we engage when weB次元官网网址檙e in a box on a screen,B次元官网网址� she said, from midtown Manhattan, where she was engaging in the sort of in-person communication that she called essential to her groupB次元官网网址檚 work.

Scott Hamilton, a former State Department official who has worked in Cuba, among other locations, described how the pandemic hurt diplomacy because B次元官网网址渇ace-to-face, you can build trust and comfort between people.B次元官网网址�

Despite the more robust attendance, this year did see some notable absences: With the exception of U.S. President Joe Biden, the leaders of China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom B次元官网网址� the four other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council B次元官网网址� did not attend.

United Nations officials say itB次元官网网址檚 a mistake to confuse in-person attendance, particularly by national leaders, as a referendum on the meetingB次元官网网址檚 importance.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e fully aware that there are competing demands on heads of states, domestic demands,B次元官网网址� said St茅phane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres. B次元官网网址淪o, weB次元官网网址檙e not taking it personally.B次元官网网址�

Even without a president or a prime minister in town, delegations still get work done B次元官网网址� and the in-person contact helps set the agenda for the year ahead.

B次元官网网址淭he really hard work is what happens the rest of the year,B次元官网网址� Laatikainen said.

Many at the General Assembly, and those observing it closely from afar, declined to discuss the substance of negotiations that may never ultimately come to fruition. But they said that the 2023 summit underscored how essential it was to meet in person again, providing an invaluable way to interact that was more confidential and efficient than virtual communications.

B次元官网网址淭echnology provides a facility to carry those (interactions) without personal contact, but itB次元官网网址檚 inferior to personal contact,B次元官网网址� said Jeff Rathke, president of the at Johns Hopkins University and a retired State Department official who focused mainly on U.S. relations with Europe..

But the General Assembly week B次元官网网址減rovides a critical mass that allows you to do all the things that you would prefer to do in person,B次元官网网址� Rathke said.

B次元官网网址淵ou can exchange papers all day and have video calls,B次元官网网址� Hamilton echoes, B次元官网网址渂ut itB次元官网网址檚 all about doing what diplomats are supposed to do: ItB次元官网网址檚 easy to understand peopleB次元官网网址檚 positions by exchanging papers but itB次元官网网址檚 more important to understand peopleB次元官网网址檚 interests.B次元官网网址�