Here are the foreign leaders on Trump’s and Harris’ radars this week

As the close race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris looms over the United Nations General Assembly’s annual high-level meeting this week, some foreign diplomats and world leaders are taking the opportunity to get some face time in. Meanwhile, both candidates are looking to burnish their international chops during an election year that’s been rife with global conflict.

The former president is flexing his connections with foreign leaders to remind voters of his credentials on the world stage — a particular point of pride for Trump, who often brags about his close ties to controversial world leaders, and one that became a pain point for him in his debate against Harris.

“What Trump is trying to do is to project strength and a mastery of foreign policy. And I think he just personally likes meeting with foreign leaders — the pageantry of meeting with foreign delegations. … It makes him look presidential,” said Ryan Williams, a GOP strategist and former aide to Mitt Romney. “And for foreign leaders who already know him, it allows them to hedge their bets.”

The vice president is more of a mystery than Trump, and foreign officials want more details about what Harris would actually do if she wins. Many were impressed by her handling of Trump during their Sept. 10 debate, saying she showed she could manage difficult characters.

“She is promising,” said an African diplomat, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about a sensitive issue most foreign officials avoid. “Yet we don’t know anything about her African policy, what her African agenda is.”

Here are the world leaders who are closer to Harris and Trump’s orbits this week.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy is slated to meet with Harris at the White House this week — and with President Joe Biden — after he addressed the U.N., but it’s unlikely he’ll meet with Trump.

The former president told reporters last week that he will “probably” meet Zelenskyy while he is in New York, but a Trump campaign official confirmed to POLITICO Tuesday that no meeting has been scheduled.

Trump rebuffed Zelenskyy at a Monday rally as wanting “so badly” for Harris to win the election, calling the Ukrainian leader “the greatest salesman in history” who “every time he comes into the country, he walks away with $60 billion.”

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

Trump recently hosted Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, he said in a Truth Social post Sunday. Qatar has been a key mediator in cease-fire and hostage-release talks between Israel and Hamas.

“The Amir has proven to be a great and powerful leader of his country, advancing on all levels at record speed,” Trump wrote. “He is someone also who strongly wants peace in the Middle East, and all over the world. We had a great relationship during my years in the White House, and it will be even stronger this time around!”

Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Biden and Harris met separately with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday amid rising tensions in the Middle East. Harris and Sheikh Mohammed discussed the war in Gaza and efforts to deescalate the conflict in Sudan.

Andrzej Duda

Trump was set to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Sunday in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, but the joint appearance did not materialize. The former president was scheduled to visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, a Polish American Catholic holy place.

It is not clear why the appearance was canceled.

Trump arranged the visit after Harris told voters at the Sept. 10 presidential debate that “the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania” should be worried about the threat to Poland and Europe posed by Trump’s passing on explicitly stating his support for Ukraine in their war with Russia.

The increased attention on the Polish American vote this election cycle is tied to the battleground states that are up for grabs. There are somewhere around 8 million Americans with Polish ancestry, according to the Census Bureau, and many are located in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Narendra Modi

Trump pledged during a town hall last week that he would meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, but Modi headed back to India on Monday without a meeting taking place.

Modi was in the United States to attend the Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, and address the “Summit of the Future” at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday.

Modi was sworn in for a rare third consecutive term as India’s prime minister in June. The Indian leader is known to be a polarizing figure for his advancement of Hindu nationalism that has invigorated his base to attack the country’s minorities, particularly Muslims.