Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected as the next president of the United Nations General Assembly, narrowly defeating Cypriot diplomat Andreas Kakouris. Rahman will assume the presidency in September at the start of the Assembly’s next session, succeeding Annalena Baerbock. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar congratulated Rahman and expressed readiness to collaborate on shared objectives.
Under the Assembly’s rotating presidency system, the Asia-Pacific group had two contenders for the position. Rahman secured 99 votes out of 190 cast in the 193-member organization, while Kakouris received 91 votes. Rahman, who took office as foreign minister in February, has a background as a career diplomat and has previously worked at the Bangladesh UN mission.
Rahman outlined that the theme of his presidency will be “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that Delivers for All.” He emphasized the importance of addressing economic crises to prevent setbacks in development and highlighted his country’s UN peacekeeping experience in managing conflicts through multilateral cooperation. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed confidence in Rahman’s leadership during challenging yet promising times for the organization.
