Samaras noted that the energy reserves in the wider region were under the jurisdiction mainly of European member countries. ” This is part of our European wealth, which we must exploit — the declaration of the EEZ is in the jurisdiction of the states, but the EU can back these states so that everything can be completed safely,” he said, adding that “we must rally together for something that unites us, we must raise our head for something that gives us prospect,” Samaras said, according to the state agency, emphasizing that Greece is at the most neuralgic point of the Mediterranean.

“Europe must make its presence felt in its neighbourhood. The Mediterranean plays and will play a decisive role for the security and international radiance of Europe, for its energy supply,” he added.

According to Kathimerini, adlthough Samaras did not refer to Cyprus specifically, it was clear that his message was designed to underline Greece’s expectation that the EU should back Athens in any dispute that might emerge with Turkey over the delineation of the Greek continental shelf and future oil and gas drilling rights. Samaras also suggested for the first time that Greece, Malta and Cyprus could cooperate to maximize the potential for hydrocarbon discoveries. “Look at the map and see what great possibilities this creates for Europe,” he said.

“As we draw closer to the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015, the international community needs to maximize its efforts towards achieving all the eight goals,” said Zambian President Michael Chilufya Sata, adding that his country is making steady progress in some of the goals.

The MDGs – which seek to slash a host of social ills, including extreme hunger and poverty, infant and maternal mortality, and lack of access to education and medical care – were agreed on by world leaders at a summit in 2000. They have a 2015 deadline for their completion.

President Sata said Zambia’s progress is visible in the education sector, with a significant increase in the net enrolment of children in primary schools, as well as in the reduction of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria cases.

However, he pointed that other challenges remain, among them the 60.5 per cent poverty rate in the country, despite efforts to stimulate economic growth. He also noted that unemployment continues to be one of the most pressing problems for Zambia’s youth, and said his Government is looking to increase partnerships with various UN agencies and the international community to harness best practices from across the world to address this issue.

The Zambian leader also reiterated his strong support for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s High level Panel on the post-2015 development agenda. The panel, which held its first meeting yesterday, is tasked with providing recommendations on a global agenda following 2015.

“We must support this high-level panel to help recoup the lost opportunities of the recent past… We are still a long way from attaining the MDGs. Discarding them entirely would be to the detriment of the poorer nations,” President Sata said. “I trust that the Secretary-General’s panel will take this into consideration.”

In his remarks to the General Debate, the President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, said his country is on track to achieve the MDGs, particularly in the areas of reducing extreme poverty, achieving gender parity in school enrolment, giving access to drinking water and reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.

He also pointed to unemployment among youth – who makes up nearly 65 percent of the population – as one of the biggest challenges for his country, and stressed that Ghana is dealing with this problem “aggressively and as effectively as possible by finding solutions that are long-term and sustainable.”

The Ghanaian President also spoke about his country’s upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, and assured the international community that the polls will be free, fair and peaceful. He added that current political stability is not just being experienced in his country, but also in other parts of Africa, revealing a new phase for the continent.

“Right now, there is something spectacular happening in Africa. Growth is taking the place of stagnation; tranquility is taking the place of turmoil; democratic governance, founded on the rule of law, is taking the place of dictatorship,” he said.

He added, “This type of sustained growth, in combination with security and democracy can only ensure an Africa that will bear no economic resemblance to the ghost of its former self. This new Africa will stand on the world stage as a mutual partner.”

The two African leaders are among scores of heads of State and government and other high-level officials who are presenting their views and comments on issues of individual national and international relevance at the Assembly’s General Debate, which ends on 1 October.

“The events of the last two weeks speak to the need for all of us to address honestly the tensions between the West and an Arab World moving to democracy,” he told scores of heads of State and Government attending the 67th General Assembly’s General Debate on its opening day, calling on world leaders to espouse the peaceful settlement of disputes.However, I do believe that it is the obligation of all leaders, in all countries, to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism.

Cities in North Africa and the Middle East recently experienced violent protests in response to an anti-Islamic video produced in the state of California by a US citizen. In the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the US ambassador to the country, Christopher Stevens, and three other diplomats were killed, and others injured or killed, when suspected Libyan religious extremists stormed the US Consulate there.

The film has drawn widespread condemnation around the world, including from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“On this we must agree: there is no speech that justifies mindless violence,” President Obama said, calling the video “crude and disgusting,” but explaining how such hateful comment is allowed by the freedom of speech clause in the US constitution.

“There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents. There is no video that justifies an attack on an Embassy. There is no slander that provides an excuse for people to burn a restaurant in Lebanon, or destroy a school in Tunis, or cause death and destruction in Pakistan,” he added, referring to the attacks that killed Ambassador Stevens and caused deaths elsewhere.

“Burning an American flag will do nothing to educate a child. Smashing apart a restaurant will not fill an empty stomach. Attacking an Embassy won’t create a single job,” he noted.

President Obama said the US has supported the forces of change that have toppled dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, and he called for an end to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, where more than 18,000 people have been killed in an uprising against his rule over the past 18 months.

“However, I do believe that it is the obligation of all leaders, in all countries, to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism,” he declared, stressing that the recent violence or hateful speech by some individuals does not represent the views of the overwhelming majority of Muslims any more than the views of the video producers behind the anti-Islam film represent those of Americans.

“It is time to marginalize those who, even when not resorting to violence, use hatred of America, or the West, or Israel as a central principle of politics,” the US President said. “For that only gives cover, and sometimes makes excuses, for those who resort to violence.”

President Obama pledged that the US will never retreat from the world and will bring to justice those who harm its citizens and friends, while standing with its allies and partnering with countries to deepen ties of trade and investment, science and technology, energy and development.

“It is time to leave the call of violence and the politics of division behind. On so many issues, we face a choice between the promise of the future, or the prisons of the past,” he declared.

“The future must not belong to those who target Coptic Christians in Egypt – it must be claimed by those in Tahrir Square who chanted ‘Muslims, Christians, we are one.’ The future must not belong to those who bully women – it must be shaped by girls who go to school, and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons…

“The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam. Yet to be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see when the image of Jesus Christ is desecrated, churches are destroyed, or the Holocaust is denied. Let us condemn incitement against Sufi Muslims and Shiite pilgrims.”

Turning to specific crises, President Obama said the future for Israelis and Palestinians must not belong to those who turn their backs on the prospect of peace and thrive on conflict, and those who reject Israel’s right to exist, but to those who pursue the hard but clear goal of a secure, Jewish state of Israel and an independent, prosperous Palestine.

On Iran, he said the US wants to resolve nuclear issue through diplomacy and believes there is still time and space to do so.

“But that time is not unlimited,” he warned. “We respect the right of nations to access peaceful nuclear power, but one of the purposes of the United Nations is to see that we harness that power for peace. Make no mistake: a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained.

“It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy. It risks triggering a nuclear-arms race in the region, and the unravelling of the non-proliferation treaty. That is why a coalition of countries is holding the Iranian government accountable. And that is why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

Scores of the world’s heads of State and government and other high-level officials are expected to present their views and comment on issues of individual national and international relevance at the Assembly’s General Debate, which ends on 1 October.

The US President also met with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today. In their meeting, the two men discussed the importance of combating hate speech and incitement to violence while protecting free speech, and agreed on the importance of the UN’s work to promote tolerance.

Other topics they discussed included the situation in Syria and its impact on the region, the needs of the Palestinian people and the growing challenges in West Africa’s Sahel region, in addition to the global challenges on food and nutrition, women’s and children’s health, and education, and the need for UN reform.

Catherine Ashton will make the keynote address at the EU conference on ‘Egyptian Women: The Way Forward’. The main objective of the event is to discuss the way forward for Egyptian women in different spheres of public and private life: political, economic, social and legal, and to learn from the ongoing support by the EU to improve future cooperation and engagement.

On the eve of her visit, Catherine Ashton said: “I am very much looking forward to meeting President Morsi. The EU will continue to do all it can to support the peaceful and orderly transition to a civilian and democratic government in Egypt. Egypt is a key player in the Arab world, and a full and reliable partner in international affairs, so steps forward in Egypt are crucial for democracy-building in the Middle East and North Africa. The EU is aware there are many challenges ahead. But will continue to stand by Egypt and its people in their quest for both deep democracy and economic opportunity. Since the very start, women have played a key role in the revolution. They are an inspiration to us all. That is why I am delighted to have organised this conference on ‘Egyptian Women: The Way Forward’.”

Rompuy stressed: “It has also called for unprecedented solidarity from the other Eurozone countries. Since 2010, Europe, together with the International Monetary Fund, contributed almost EUR 150 billion of support. Sometimes people ask for a “Marshall Plan for Greece”. Well, Europe’s support amounts to much more than the Marshall Plan! Our solidarity is there!

We are driven by a clear common determination: Greece must remain in the euro area while respecting its commitments. We expect that after the elections, the next Greek government will make that choice. The stakes are high… for all of us in the Eurozone. But unlike two years ago when the Greek crisis started, we now have the tools in place – the European Financial Stability Facility and, soon, the European Stability Mechanism – to guarantee the financial stability of the Eurozone as a whole and help our Member States in overcoming the crisis.

But there is more to be said. It would be a mistake to reduce the financial and debt crisis to such exceptional risks only. It has also brought to light structural challenges that predate it.

– Systemic challenges for the Economic and Monetary Union as such: we must now strengthen its economic policy dimension, alongside its monetary dimension.

– And structural challenges for all our economies. Overcoming them will require tough decisions and decisive actions. To bring down public debts and deficits, restore competitiveness, finance our future.

…Sound public finances and growth are two sides of the same coin. In the long run, you cannot have one without the other. This is why European leaders have worked on both fronts simultaneously. We have tamed the debt crisis, but we have also developed a common strategy for growth and employment…”