Bangladesh FM takes charge as UNGA president

Bangladesh Foreign Minister (FM) Dr Khaleelur Rahman is set to assume the presidency of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) today (8 September).

The 81st session formally begins on Tuesday, while the high-level general debate will open on 22 September with addresses by heads of state and government.

Ahead of the session’s opening, UN Secretary-General António Guterres met Dr Khaleelur Rahman in New York to discuss preparations for his new role as president of the General Assembly.

The UN Bangladesh office also congratulated Dr Khaleelur Rahman on Monday, wishing him success in his tenure.

He was elected president of the 81st UNGA session on 2 June through a secret-ballot vote at UN headquarters in New York. He defeated Andreas S Kacouris, special envoy to the Foreign Minister of Cyprus, by eight votes.

Bangladesh last held the UNGA presidency in 1986, when former foreign secretary and politician Humayun Rashid Choudhury chaired the 41st session. Nearly four decades later, another Bangladeshi is set to lead the UN’s principal deliberative body.