UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations (UN) will hold the Sustainable Development Summit at the UN headquarters in New York from Friday to Sunday, ahead of the annual General Assembly gathering of world leaders that begins on Monday.

More than 150 heads of state and government are expected to attend the upcoming summit, which aims at formally adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to guide the development of the international community over the next 15 years.

The agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight anti-poverty targets to be reached by the end of 2015.

The new 17 goals cover a wide range of issues, such as ending poverty and hunger; tackling inequalities; empowering women and girls; fostering sustainable economic growth; transforming and promoting sustainable consumption and production; combatting climate change; promoting employment; improving infrastructure and establishing accountable and inclusive institutions to achieve sustainable development.

The new goals were initiated at a UN summit on sustainable development in Rio De Janeiro in June 2012. The summit resulted in a document entitled "The Future We Want," laying out a roadmap for the post-2015 development agenda.

In August 2015, negotiators from 193 UN member states agreed on a draft blueprint for sustainable development that will last through 2030.

The 69th UN General Assembly ended its session on Sept. 14, building momentum for the Post-2015 Development Agenda, to be adopted at an upcoming summit.

World leaders will also participate in six interactive dialogues during the summit, which will be joined by leaders from civil society, religious groups and the private sector.

The UN will hold another important summit in Paris in December, focusing on climate change. The new goals are closely linked with the summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will take part in the Sustainable Development Summit. On the sidelines of the summit, Xi will chair the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, and chair the High-level Roundtable on South-South Cooperation co-hosted by China and the UN.