World Leaders Gather in New York for UNGA: Who Has America’s Ear?

— More than 100 presidents and prime ministers are set to arrive in New York this week for one of the most demanding events on the diplomatic calendar. They will gather at a United Nations facing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, economic strain caused by disrupted energy markets and growing doubts about its ability to act in an increasingly divided world.

The U.N. expects 73 heads of state and 45 heads of government, as well as 49 ministers, 11 vice presidents and one crown prince, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters Friday. Member states have submitted about 1,000 requests for bilateral meetings, and 168 events are planned during the high-level week, Dujarric said.

Asked to describe the mood inside U.N. headquarters as delegations prepared to arrive, Dujarric offered a brief assessment Friday: “high stress.”

The General Debate of the 81st U.N. General Assembly opens Tuesday, Sept. 22, under the theme, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”

Yet beyond the speeches, motorcades and private meetings unfolding across Manhattan, another contest will be underway. Nearly every government represented in New York will be seeking a way to win the attention of the United States.

“This is their moment to grab a piece of American mindshare for sure,” Frank Ahrens, head of BGR Analytics, told News Media.

A new analysis released ahead of UNGA seeks to quantify which countries already command that attention.

The 2026 BGR Impact Index, prepared by BGR Analytics, the data division of Washington-based BGR Group, ranks 197 countries and economies by their overall presence in the United States. The index combines economic, cultural, diplomatic, institutional and geopolitical factors. Japan remains in first place for a third straight year, followed by Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

That contest carries particular weight this year.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to return to the General Assembly Tuesday as the US-Iran war enters its seventh month. Fighting involving the Iran-backed Houthis has also increased pressure on shipping through the Red Sea and heightened concerns among Gulf states over regional security. Reuters reported Sept. 18 that European and Asian allies have largely rejected U.S. appeals for deeper involvement in the Iran conflict, while the extended war has placed additional strain on Washington’s ties with some partners.

The agenda reaches far beyond Iran. Russia’s war against Ukraine, Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Sudan, climate change and artificial intelligence are also expected to dominate discussions at the General Assembly. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are among the prominent leaders and representatives expected to address the gathering.

The interplay of military strength, diplomatic access and public opinion points to the central question at the heart of the BGR index: how should influence be measured?

BGR assessed more than 100 indicators, including gross domestic product, population, foreign investment, international students, cultural visibility and lobbying activity in Washington.

This year, however, one of the most important measures came from a relatively new arena: social media.

“We looked at 4.9 trillion pieces of data across an entire year because we know that a social media campaign can really move a country’s perception in the U.S.,” Ahrens said. “And that was really the big takeaway from this year’s index.”

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Social-media sentiment represents 20% of the index, making it the second-largest category behind cultural imprint, which accounts for 24%. Institutional ties and outward orientation each contribute 16%, while geopolitical nexus makes up 10%, economic size 8% and lobbying and Washington influence 6%. BGR said its core data was drawn from public sources, chiefly the U.N., U.S. government agencies and established research institutions. Meltwater provided the social-media data.

For smaller nations, the findings indicate that shifts in reputation can lead to especially dramatic changes in their rankings.

Bahrain posted the largest gain, rising 22 spots from No. 97 in 2024 to No. 75 in 2026. BGR linked much of the improvement to more favorable U.S.-oriented online sentiment and greater visibility following Bahrain’s election to a rotating seat on the U.N. Security Council, its victory in the Arabian Gulf Cup and a port call by the USS Nimitz.

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Georgia moved in the opposite direction, falling 31 positions, from No. 73 to No. 104. BGR said its deteriorating U.S.-facing online sentiment coincided with political unrest and arrests of journalists and opposition leaders.

Ahrens acknowledged that generating attention is not the same as wielding political influence. “Countries that make a lot of noise about themselves do get on the radar, but to stay on the radar, you have to have real accomplishments.”

The index attempts to address that distinction by combining sentiment with harder measures such as economic links, institutional rankings, lobbying expenditure and participation in international organizations.

Perhaps BGR’s most unusual example of how national perception can change did not come from a president, diplomat or lobbying operation.

It came from a German soccer fan.

BGR calls it the “Freddy Effect,” after a German World Cup visitor whose enthusiastic posts about traveling through the United States went viral this summer.

Ahrens said BGR found that positive sentiment toward Germany increased 13% over roughly three weeks during Freddy’s rise online. BGR links a substantial part of that increase to the reaction generated by his posts, although the data does not independently establish that he alone caused the change.

“Can you recreate a Freddy? I don’t know if you can reverse engineer him to that effect,” Ahrens said. “But what it shows you is how authentic communication really breaks through on social media.”

It is a lesson that may resonate with delegations arriving in New York this week, where hundreds of leaders will have only a few days to secure meetings, shape headlines and make their country’s case.