Khalilur Rahman to take charge of UN session today

The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) begins today, Tuesday (September 8). Through this, an important chapter is going to be added to Bangladesh's diplomacy. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman will take charge of the presidency of the UN General Assembly, one of the world's largest multilateral forums, for one year. According to official UN information, the 81st session will run from September 8, 2026 to September 7, 2027.

Session opens in New York today

Khalilur Rahman will inaugurate the 81st session at 3 pm local time at the UN headquarters in New York. By taking charge, he will replace former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who was the president of the 80th session.

The theme of this session is 'Rebuilding Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Works for All'. The same theme has also been mentioned in UN information.

Meeting with Secretary-General Guterres

Before the start of the session, Khalilur Rahman met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The meeting held in New York discussed his preparations for assuming the presidency of the 81st General Assembly.

Earlier, the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN also congratulated Khalilur Rahman for assuming this new global responsibility.

Khalilur Rahman elected with 99 votes

The election for the presidency of the 81st session of the General Assembly was held at the UN Headquarters in New York on June 2 of this year. Bangladeshi candidate Khalilur Rahman was elected with 99 votes in a secret ballot. His rival Andreas Kakoris of Cyprus received 91 votes. A total of 190 votes were cast.

The post of UN president is distributed among five regional groups in phases. Since it is the turn of the Asia-Pacific region for the 81st session, Khalilur Rahman was a candidate from this region.

Bangladesh leads the UN after almost four decades

Khalilur Rahman's assumption of this responsibility is of special significance for Bangladesh. Earlier, Humayun Rashid Chowdhury of Bangladesh served as the President of the 41st session of the UN General Assembly during the 1986-87 term.

After almost four decades, a Bangladeshi has again assumed the important responsibility of President of the UN General Assembly. As a result, a new chapter has begun for Bangladesh's diplomacy under the leadership of Khalilur Rahman.

Leadership on important global issues

The UN General Assembly has representation from 193 member states of the world. This council serves as one of the main platforms for discussion and policy-making on various global issues including international peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development.

Khalilur Rahman's one-year term will bring important discussions on various global crises, UN reform, and multilateral cooperation. His term of office will last until September 7, 2027.