76th UNGA session: Bangladesh elected vice-president

Bangladesh has been elected vice-president of the upcoming 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from the Asia-Pacific Region for a one-year term starting September this year.

The election was held at the UNGA Monday where Bangladesh was elected unanimously.

Along with Bangladesh, Kuwait, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Philippines were also elected as vice-presidents from the Asia-Pacific.

Bangladesh last served as vice-president during the 71st session of the UNGA in 2016-2017.

After the election, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Rabab Fatima said: "Bangladesh is a flag bearer of multilateralism and believes in the leadership of the UN in addressing the complex challenges facing the current world."

"The country maintains principled and constructive position in various global discourses in the field of development, peace and security and human rights. Today's election demonstrates the trust reposed by the international community in Bangladesh at the multilateral fora" she added.

Meanwhile, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid was elected president of the same session of the UNGA.

The 76th session of the UN general assembly will be of particular significance as the world recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and its multidimensional impacts, said the Bangladesh Mission at the UN Tuesday.

The UNGA consists of all the 193 member states and serves as the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the UN Charter. The UN organ meets under its president in annual sessions, which generally starts from September at headquarters in New York.