20 September 2016, New York:The annual General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly opened today at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Asim represented the Government of the Maldives and will also lead the Maldives delegation to the seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly. Minister Asim will address the General Assembly on 24 September 2016.
The opening of the seventy-first General Debate was preceded by the presentation of the annual report of the work of the United Nations by the Secretary General of the United Nations Mr Ban Ki-moon, followed by the keynote opening statement delivered by the President of the seventy-first General Assembly, Mr. Peter Thomson, of Fiji.
Several world leaders addressed the General Debate today, signaling the start of the High Level week at the United Nations General Assembly. As in other years, Maldives will actively and substantively engage during the 71st session, focusing on key areas ranging from economic resilience, environment, the sustainable development agenda, as well special circumstances of SIDS.
As a leader of Small Island States and Chairman of AOSIS, the Maldives will co-sponsor a number of side events on oceans, and with Italy, co-chair the First Global Multi-stakeholder Partnership Dialogue on partnerships for SIDS.
Minister Asim will also take part in annual meetings of the Commonwealth, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Group of 77 and China, and SAARC. The Minister is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with a number of Governments and the United Nations.
The Maldives delegation to the seventy-first session also includes the Attorney General H.E. Mr. Ahmed Anil, Foreign Secretary Dr. Ali Naseer Mohamed and Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mr. Ahmed Sareer and staff at the Maldives Mission in New York.
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