Statement by Chargé d'Affaires of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy on behalf of the Group of Eastern European States on the Occasion of the Election of the President of the General Assembly for the 74th session
Your Excellency, Mr. Secretary-General,
Madam President,
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the Group of Eastern European States, I have the honour and pleasure to extend our warmest and sincerest congratulations to His Excellency Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad-Bande on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. We also congratulate the Government of Nigeria on this important achievement recalling that Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad-Bande will become the second Nigerian to be elected to this position after former Foreign Minister Joseph Nanven Garba in 1989.
Such a prominent post as President of the General Assembly is of crucial importance to addressing many of the challenges facing the United Nations. We are confident that, based on your professional qualities, Mr. President-elect, as a scholar and diplomat and vast experience in the United Nations arena and abroad, in particular your service as Vice-President of the General Assembly during the seventy-first session and Chair of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, you will make significant contributions to the success of the upcoming session of the General Assembly.
Let me also express our sincere gratitude to President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcès for the excellent work and leadership she has provided so far. Her personal involvement in matters particularly pertaining to multilateralism, sustainable development, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls were invaluable assets to strengthen the work of the General Assembly and its capacity to deliver on its mandate.
Madame President, you can count on the support of the Eastern European Group until the end of your tenure as President of the General Assembly at its current session. We wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
Madame President,
Let me conclude by once again reaffirming the full support of the members of the Group of Eastern European States to the newly elected President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, during his upcoming tenure. We fully share his intention to work closely with all member-states of the United Nations in acting for the common good and achieving our collective goals in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter. We wish him every success in fulfilling his forthcoming mandate.
Thank you.
