The Seventy-Seventh Session of the United Nations General Assembly was declared open by newly elected President, His Excellency Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary yesterday, 13 September. President Csaba Kőrösi had previously been serving in the Office of the President’s of Hungary, as Director of Environmental Sustainability. He succeeds outgoing President, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid, who presided over the 76th session and continues to serve as the Foreign Minister of the Maldives.   

Following the opening of the 77th Session, the General Assembly appointed the credentials committee for this session, which will comprise of Angola, Austria, China, Guyana, the Maldives the Russian Federation, the United States, Uruguay, and Zambia. The credentials committee is a 9-member body appointed annually by the General Assembly upon the proposal of the President. Its primary task is to report on the credentials of representatives of Member States to the General Assembly.   

The High-level week of the 77th Session will run from 19 to 26 September 2022. Heads of State and Governments and heads of national delegations will deliver statements at the General Debate to be held from 20 September, under the theme, “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”. This theme emphasizes the need to find joint solutions to the complex and interconnected crises facing the globe, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, climate change, as well as growing threats to the global economy.

The High-level week will also see meetings and events centered on the Sustainable Development Goals; education; commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities; climate action; the situation in Ukraine; ending the COVID-19 pandemic; and on the elimination of nuclear weapons.

The Maldives’ delegation to the High-level week of the 77th Session of the General Assembly will be led by the Foreign Minister of the Maldives, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid.