President John Dramani Mahama has begun his engagements on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York with a meeting with Alex Soros, Chairman and Founder of the Open Society Foundation (OSF).

The meeting, held on Sunday, September 20, 2026, forms part of President Mahama’s engagements ahead of the high-level activities of the UN General Assembly, whose general debate is scheduled to begin on September 22.

The 81st session is being held under the theme, “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.”

Alex Soros, an investor and philanthropist who has previously engaged with President Mahama, and the Open Society Foundation are interested in exploring opportunities to partner with Ghana and support efforts aimed at strengthening the integration agenda of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The discussions are expected to form part of broader engagements between Ghana and international foundations as the Mahama administration seeks partnerships around regional integration, development and other areas of mutual interest.

Sunday’s meeting also served as a precursor to a planned presidential roundtable being coordinated by the Open Society Foundation with a select group of global foundation presidents and chief executive officers.

In a social media post, President Mahama said the roundtable is expected to bring together leaders from major international foundations and organisations, including the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Hewlett Packard, Hilton, Rockefeller, Humanity United, Anglo American, Chandler and UBS Optimus, among others.

The President is also scheduled to host a side event on reparatory justice on Wednesday, September 23, focusing on “From Commitments to Action on Reparatory Justice: Advancing International Cooperation for the Return and Restitution of Cultural Properties and Heritage.”