Bangladeshi FM elected UN General Assembly head

Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman was elected president of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, winning the vote in the 193-member world body.

With 190 UN member states casting votes, Rahman received 99, defeating Andreas S. Kakouris, special envoy of Cyprus' foreign minister for multilateralism, who secured 91.

Following his election, Rahman pledged to rebuild trust among member states and promote consensus-building within the UN.

"As your president, I will dedicate myself to rebuilding trust, nurturing consensus and opening space for good-faith negotiations that will lead to outcomes owned by all," he said.

Rahman said his presidency would focus on six pillars of action: peace and security; the 2030 agenda; climate action and environmental protection; human rights; emerging technologies, including AI; and UN reform.

The theme of the 81st session will be "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated Rahman on his election, saying he would take the reins of the General Assembly "at a moment of deep challenge but also profound possibility" for the United Nations.

"But the hard work of diplomacy, dialogue and collaboration that happens each and every day here at the General Assembly gives me renewed hope that we can transform divisions into determination to work in common purpose," Guterres said.

Annalena Baerbock, president of the 80th session of the General Assembly, said Rahman would serve during what were "certainly not ordinary times", noting that the role of the General Assembly president has evolved in an era when consensus can no longer be taken for granted and defending the UN Charter has become a daily necessity.

The assembly would continue to address major intergovernmental processes, including implementation of the Pact for the Future and ongoing reform efforts under the UN80 Initiative, Baerbock said. Rahman is "more than prepared" for the position, she said, citing his decades of diplomatic and multilateral experience.

The General Assembly is the UN's main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ. While its resolutions are generally not legally binding, they carry significant political weight and reflect the views of the international community.