KABUL (Pajhwok): Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected president of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, defeating Cyprus’s Andreas Kakouris in a closely contested vote.
In the secret-ballot election, Rahman secured 99 votes against Kakouris’s 91. A total of 190 ballots were cast, with no invalid votes or abstentions on Tuesday, according to the United Nations.
The presidency of the General Assembly rotates among the UN’s five regional groups, with the Asia-Pacific group holding the post for the 81st session. Rahman will assume office on September 8 for a one-year term.
His tenure will coincide with one of the most significant processes on the UN calendar — the selection of a successor to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, whose term expires on December 31, 2026.
Rahman brings more than four decades of diplomatic and multilateral experience to the role.
He has served as Bangladesh’s foreign minister since February and previously held the positions of national security adviser and high representative on the Rohingya issue.
A career diplomat, Rahman joined Bangladesh’s foreign service in 1979 and has also held senior positions with the United Nations in New York and Geneva.
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