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The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) officially begins today, Tuesday (September 8). Dr. Khalilur Rahman, the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, will assume the presidency of this session.
He will be sworn in as the President of the UNGA around 9 PM Bangladesh time today. Subsequently, he will preside over the first plenary meeting of the 81st session of the General Assembly at 1 AM. The high-level general debate of the session, featuring speeches by heads of state and government, will commence on September 22.
These details were announced in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this morning. The statement mentioned that a media briefing would be held before the oath-taking ceremony. Following that, Dr. Khalilur Rahman will assume his duties as president and conduct the first plenary meeting.
Previously, on June 2, he was elected President of the 81st session of the UNGA by a vote of member state representatives at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. In the secret ballot election, the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister defeated Andreas S. Kakouris, the Special Envoy of the Cypriot Foreign Minister, by an eight-vote margin.
This marks the return of a Bangladeshi to the crucial role of President of the United Nations General Assembly after nearly four decades. Previously, Humayun Rashid Chowdhury, former Foreign Secretary and politician of Bangladesh, served as President of the UNGA’s 41st session in 1986.
Dr. Khalilur Rahman’s appointment to the presidency of the UN General Assembly, the world’s largest multilateral forum, is considered a significant diplomatic achievement for Bangladesh.