Hungarian diplomat Csaba Korosi elected President UNGA

NEW YORK: The UN General Assembly has elected Hungarian diplomat Csaba Korosi to preside over the 193-member body’s 77th session which begins in September.

He will replace the current President of the General Assembly, Abdullah Shahid of Maldives, who presided over the 76th session.

Korosi, 64 is currently the Director for Environmental Sustainability at the Office of the President of Hungary. He will assume the post from Shahid in September and will serve until September 2023.

He served as Hungary’s envoy to the UN from 2010 – 2014. His election was welcomed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Pakistan also welcomed Korosi’s election on behalf of the Asia-Pacific States Group, and assured him of full support of the group.

“We are confident that given his vast experience and distinguished career in the field of diplomacy, he would make a positive contribution to the success of the Assembly’s upcoming session,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, Acting Pakistan Permanent Representative to the UN said.

The world today, he said, was confronted with multiple challenges, be it coronavirus pandemic, conflict, climate change or economic downturns caused by the pandemic.

“These major drivers are unique but not mutually exclusive, as they interact to the detriment of food security and nutrition by creating multiple and compounding impacts,” he said. “Their adverse influence is made all the more difficult by high and persistent levels of inequality within and among countries”.

“To confront the current challenges, we need a transformation in our vision for the future. The COVID pandemic and the climate crisis should drive home the message to all – rich and poor, weak or powerful – that their destinies are intertwined.

“The solution to our problems lies in global solidarity and collective actions with a pledge to leave no one behind. To this effect, the work of the General Assembly is of vital importance.”

The Pakistani envoy also paid tributes to President Abdulla Shahid for his successful stewardship of the 76th session of the General Assembly.