The General Assembly session began on Wednesday, but the high-level summit conference takes place next week. Representing Finland will be President Halonen, Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb and Minister of Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen.
Halonen will play a high-profile role in the Assembly proceedings. On Monday she and Rwandan president Paul Kagame -- an outspoken critic of the UN -- will co-chair a meeting of heads of state focusing on Africa. On Thursday, Halonen leads a meeting on the UN's Millennium Development Goals, whose implementation is badly behind schedule.
The president is also to take part in a meeting of women leaders convened by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Participants include the heads of state or government from Argentina, Chile, Germany and Liberia.
Sights on 2013
Meanwhile, Finnish officials will be lobbying for a two-year term on the Security Council beginning in 2013. Under UN practice, one of the Nordic countries is generally eligible for a seat during every other two-year cycle. Iceland is seeking a place next, and Finland hopes to be next. It has been represented on the Council twice, beginning in 1969 and 1989.