Staff Reporter:
Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Khalilur Rahman has been elected president of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
He defeated Cyprus’ Special Envoy for Multilateralism Andreas S Kakouris to secure the prestigious post for a one-year term.
The result was announced on Tuesday following the formal election held at the UN General Assembly hall at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Out of 190 member states, Khalilur received 99 votes, while his only rival, Andreas, secured 91 votes.
The outgoing president of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, announced the result in the presence of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Khalilur Rahman was present at the UN headquarters during the announcement of the result. Upon hearing the news of his victory, he was seen expressing gratitude to the Almighty. He later addressed the General Assembly after being elected president.
With this victory, a Bangladeshi representative will once again hold the presidency of the UN General Assembly.
In 1986, Bangladesh’s former foreign minister Humayun Rasheed Choudhury served as president of the 41st session of the UN General Assembly.
