Press Release
11 August 2013
Minister Nkoana-Mashabane to receive the President of the UN General Assembly
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane will host Mr Vuk Jeremić, President of the 67th session of the General Assembly (UNGA), for bilateral discussions on 12 August 2013 in Pretoria. It is expected that the bilateral discussions will focus on strengthening of the multilateral system, in particular the UN, which is one of the key priorities of South Africa’s foreign policy.
The UN General Assembly’s focus on Africa, assessment and follow-up on the efforts towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and current deliberations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, are among the issues expected to be considered during the meeting.
The General Assembly is one of the UN’s six principal organs, and the “chief deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations,” according to the Charter of the UN. It comprises all 193 member states and serves as a forum for intergovernmental discussion and negotiation on all of the international issues covered by the Charter. Each session runs from mid-September to mid-September and the UN is currently in its 67th Session, with the 68th Session commencing on 17 September 2013.
The President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA) is a position voted for by the 193 UN Member States in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on an annual basis. The President presides over the sessions of the General Assembly.
The current officeholder, Mr Jeremić, was elected President of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly which runs from September 2012 to September 2013. At the time of his election, Mr Jeremić was serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, an office he held starting on 15 May 2007.
At the beginning of his term as President of the UN General Assembly, Mr Jeremić announced that the theme for the 67th Session of the GA will be “Bringing adjustment or resolution of conflicts through peaceful means”.
The PGA convened various thematic debates such as “the Role of International Justice in Reconciliation; UN and Global Economic Governance; the Peaceful resolution of Conflicts; Climate Change, Green Energy and Water Sustainability and Culture and Development”. All of these debates were held at the Ministerial level.
For more information, please contact Mr Clayson Monyela, 082 884 5974
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
OR Tambo Building
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