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OPENING REMARKS BY

H.E. AHMAD FAISAL MUHAMAD

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS

 

AT THE TRANSITION WORKSHOP FOR THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1 SEPTEMBER 2023

CR-5, UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

 

His Excellency Csaba Kőrösi, President of the General Assembly,

 

His Excellency Dennis Francis, President-elect of the 78th session of the General Assembly,

 

Permanent Representatives of Ecuador and Finland,

 

Ambassador Marco Suazo, Head of UNITAR in New York,

 

Members of the Office of the 78th President of the General Assembly; and

 

Distinguished colleagues

 

On behalf of the co-organisers of today’s workshop namely Ecuador, Finland, UNITAR and my own country Malaysia, I wish to extend our deepest appreciation to both President and President-elect for their presence today. Their participations clearly illustrate their firm commitment towards the important process of revitalising the General Assembly, and the effectiveness of the Office of the PGA, more particularly.

 

Here, I also wish to record our deep appreciation to HE Kőrösi, for his hard work and dedication in steering the 77th Session of the General Assembly, especially for his leadership in our endeavour to achieve the much-needed transformation of the UN multilateralism process.

 

Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen,

 

Our objective today is clear. Through this workshop, we intend to provide a platform for sharing of information, best practices and experiences. Most importantly, we hope to stimulate a frank discussion between current and upcoming teams of the OPGA on matters pertaining to continuity of agendas and priorities, as well existing and potential challenges. We also hope that this workshop can contribute towards enhancing the accountability, transparency and institutional memory of the OPGA.

 

The two transition workshops that were held in previous years have received very encouraging feedbacks, not only from the OPGA team, but also wider Member States.

 

Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

You may have noticed that as compared to the two-day programme last year, we have decided to shorten this year’s workshop to a half-day session. The briefings by leaders from OPGA77 will be more focused and targeted on specific important issues.

 

Due to popular demand, we are pleased to again welcome Ambassador Egriselda Lopez of El Savador, one of the Co-chairs of the Ad-Hoc Working Group on the Revitalisation of the General Assembly. A new addition to this year’s programme is a briefing from Mr. Richard Gowan from the International Crisis Group, on Creative Diplomacy and Initiatives. Meanwhile, the time allocated for the Q & A session remains 15 minutes to allow meaningful and adequate interactions between participants.

 

I hope we will have a vibrant and candid exchanges of ideas and observations that would help in some ways, to prepare the incoming team of the OPGA for their very important task ahead. The Office of the PGA is unique in its composition, with members being diplomats and personnel from the UN Secretariat, from diverse backgrounds.

 

In conclusion, I call on all participants to make full use of this short but hopefully, useful programme, by engaging actively and constructively. I wish the PGA-elect and his team all the best in the upcoming session of the General Assembly. You can be assured of our support.

 

Thank you.