Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has expressed confidence about the Maldives’ bid to win the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) scheduled for 2022.
Speaking to the press during his ongoing official visit to India, Minister Shahid stated one of the main priorities placed by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration upon assuming office in 2018 was reinstating and enhancing diplomatic ties with the international community. In this regard, the minister noted the Maldives has established strong ties with several countries over the past two years, which has helped to gain a lot of support for the bid to win UNGA presidency. He expressed confidence that the Maldives will be able to win the bid for UNGA presidency.
Maldives announced its intention to contest for UNGA presidency last year.
India and Saudi Arabia have officially expressed their support for the bid and are assisting the Maldives in gaining support for the bid. During his ongoing visit to India, Foreign Minister Shahid has met with ambassadors and representatives from 16 countries across Europe and Africa.
The President of the UNGA is a position voted for by UNGA representatives on a yearly basis. The President is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly.
The presidency rotates annually between the five geographic groups: African, Asia-Pacific, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean, and Western European and other States. In this regard, Presidency of the 76th session of UNGA has been allocated to the Asia-Pacific region.
The Presidency of the 76th session of UNGA is being contested by Maldives and Afghanistan.