Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid

Abdulla Shahid Elected As President Of UN General Assembly

In an election held on Monday for the post of President for the United Nations General Assembly, Maldives Foreign minister Abdulla Shahid won by a huge margin.

The 193-member United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has voted Abdulla Shahid to succeed Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir as President.

The 76th session of the UN body will commence in September, 2021. Earlier the 75th session of the UN body was conducted amid COVID-19 pandemic to elect the new president. 

Out of 191 votes, Abdulla Shahid secured 143 votes to beat his opponent Dr Zalmai Rassoul, a former foreign minister of Afghanistan who got 48 votes.

India’s Permanent Mission to the UN tweeted – 

Hearty congratulations to Maldives Foreign Minister @abdulla_shahid for the robust victory and for being elected as the 76th President of the UN General Assembly,

The President of the General Assembly is elected every year by a secret ballot and requires a simple majority vote of the General Assembly.

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The Presidency of the General Assembly rotates among the five regional groups – the Group of Asian States, the Group of Eastern European States, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Group of African States, the Western European and other States Group.

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar

In this context, I reiterate today India’s strong support to the candidature of Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid for President of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly next year.

Foreign Minister Shahid, with his vast diplomatic experience and his leadership qualities is, in our view, the best equipped to preside over the General Assembly of 193 nations of the world. We will work together to make this a reality. We would really like to work with you during our membership of the United Nations Security Council for 2021-22,

India had already voiced its strong support for Mr Shahid’s candidature for President of the 76th session of the UNGA, saying he is best equipped to preside over the General Assembly of 193 nations of the world.

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