Peru's Senate is set to debate on Wednesday, September 16, a request from the Executive branch to authorize President Keiko Fujimori to travel to New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, which runs from September 21 to 28.
The full chamber is scheduled to take up the travel authorization starting at 2:30 p.m. local time. The chamber is one of two houses of Peru's Congress, which returned to a bicameral structure for the current legislative term, restoring a Senate for the first time in more than three decades. Under Peru's Constitution, presidents must obtain congressional authorization before leaving the country, a requirement that applies even to routine diplomatic travel.
The government submitted the request on Friday, September 11, one day after Fujimori met with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Republican senator from Florida who took over the role in 2025. At that meeting, the two sides announced Peru's entry into the Shield of the Americas initiative.
Fujimori leads Fuerza Popular, one of Peru's largest political parties, and is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000, was later convicted of human rights abuses and corruption, and died in September 2024. She ran for the presidency in 2011, 2016 and 2021 before winning the office.
Trip Dates and UN Agenda
The presidential trip requested by the government would run from Monday, September 21, to Friday, September 25. The General Assembly's High-Level General Debate opens on the morning of Tuesday, September 22, with the participation of 97 heads of state, 55 heads of government and 41 representatives of other ranks, according to the request presented to lawmakers.
The United Nations General Assembly is the UN's main deliberative and policy-making body. Its annual high-level session each September in New York typically draws the largest gathering of world leaders of the year, with representatives of the organization's 193 member states taking part.
Vice President Would Take Charge
If the Senate approves the request, First Vice President Luis Galarreta would temporarily take charge of the Office of the Presidency, under Article 115 of Peru's Constitution, which sets out the order of succession when the president is outside the country, and the country's Organic Law of the Executive Branch. Galarreta, a Fuerza Popular lawmaker, has previously served as president of Peru's Congress.
Possible Meetings With Trump and Guterres
The General Assembly agenda includes a reception for heads of delegation on Tuesday, September 22, hosted by US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. That same day, at 2:20 p.m., Fujimori would meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal who has led the UN since 2017, according to the schedule submitted to the Senate.
During her stay in New York, Fujimori also has activities planned with the New York Stock Exchange, the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization; the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based foreign policy think tank; and the business organization CEAPI, among other groups.
Congress and the Executive at Odds
The travel request comes as Peru's Congress has refused to grant the Executive branch special legislative powers in areas including citizen security, employment and the tax regime, amid ongoing tension between lawmakers and Fujimori's government.
