The Hindu reports that, “Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated veteran UN diplomat Ali Abdessalam Treki of Libya on his election as the President of the upcoming session of the General Assembly. The three-time Libyan Ambassador to the UN and current Minister of African Union Affairs for the North African nation was elected by acclamation by the 192-member Assembly.”
Xinhua reports that, “Treky, who previously served as Libya’s foreign minister …will replace the current GA president, Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, when the next assembly session convenes on Sept. 15. In his acceptance speech, Treky said that under his presidency, the General Assembly will continue to push forward the reform of the United Nations, in particular the reform of the Security Council. …Anti-poverty, climate change, the global financial and economic crisis and the promotion of human right will also top the agenda of the General Assembly, he added.”
Reuters notes, “Triki set the tone in a speech to the General Assembly in which he criticized big powers for spending trillions of dollars on weapons that could have been invested fighting poverty and promoting development.”
The Associated Press reports that, “France’s U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert praised Treki’s selection, and said France was happy that an African minister will be presiding in the coming year over major challenges like the global financial crisis, economic woes and climate change.”
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