The President of the 76th Session of UN General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, on Thursday said his presidency would deliver on sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shahid told the inaugural consultation on the Common Agenda in New York, that his “Presidency of Hope” would “focused on solutions and concrete actions that look to deliver for people, planet, and prosperity.”
The inaugural consultation was convened by Shahid, dedicated to galvanising action towards implementing the ground-breaking blueprint, known as Our Common Agenda, launched in 2021 by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
He emphasised that his priorities included a sustainable recovery from the pandemic, “respecting the rights of all, protecting the planet and revitalising the UN.”
“Ours is a world in need of hope. Hope that can only be inspired by unity, solidarity, and collective action”, he said, adding that “this consultative process…is key to delivering on each of those priorities”.
“The United Nations must step up; we must become more responsive and more effective for the people we serve,” he stated.
Despite differences, Shahid maintained that “we are but one family”, encouraging everyone to “find a way forward” on the Agenda’s proposals.
“Our attempt should be to find the right mechanisms to ensure that we arrive at common understandings”.
Like fisherfolk, “let’s fill our boats with fish”, rather than “cut the hook and return to the shore empty handed, he said.
The Assembly President urged Member States to operate “in good faith, with mutual trust and respect, and with the common goal of enhancing our work and bettering the world around us.”
The two-day consultation is held under the theme “Accelerating and scaling up the Sustainable Development Goals, leaving no-one behind”.