United Nations, New York, 18 February 2018 – The President of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Laj?ák, returned to New York this evening after having attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany from 16 to 18 February. The recurring message of the three-day gathering was clear: No one country can tackle today’s peace and security challenges alone. Unity, dialogue, and multilateralism are the only way forward.
President Laj?ák participated in a discussion on “Europe and the Sahel: A Partnership for Development, Security and Migration”. He emphasized that Sahel countries are key partners to the United Nation in its work for peace. The President briefed participants on the intergovernmental process to adopt a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. And he noted that taking into account the experience and positions of Africa, including the five Sahel countries, would be crucial during the related negotiations.
While in Munich, Mr. Laj?ák met with government representatives from around the world to brief on his priorities for the General Assembly in 2018, including sustaining peace, the negotiations on the global compact on migration, his planned initiatives on sustainable development, and current development, peace and security challenges.
In his meeting with H.E. Mr. Erlan Abdyldayev, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, he shared details about the upcoming launch of the International Decade of Water for Sustainable Development on 22 March 2018 and stressed the important role of Central Asia at the United Nations.
He also discussed regional developments with H.E. Mr. Nikola Dimitrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and H.E. Mr. Sr?an Darmanovi?, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro.
With H.E. Mr. Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mr. Laj?ák discussed current United Nations reform processes and proposals and the agenda and work of the General Assembly.
Mr. Laj?ák emphasized the importance of the support of the European Union in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during his meeting with H.E. Mr. Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission.
President Laj?ák used his time in Munich to also meet with representatives from international and regional bodies. He discussed the current work of the United Nations Office at Geneva (蘑菇视频OG) and the United Nations Environment Programme (蘑菇视频EP) in his meetings with Michael M?ller, Director-General of 蘑菇视频OG, and Erik Solheim, Executive Director of 蘑菇视频EP. He invited Mr. Solheim to participate in the forthcoming High Level interactive dialogue on sand and dust storms, during the High-Level Political Forum in July 2018.
Mr. Laj?ák stressed the importance of strong cooperation and dialogue between the United Nations and other international or regional bodies, such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) or the International Criminal Court (ICC), in his meetings with Mr. Thomas Greminger, Secretary General of the OSCE and Ms. Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the ICC.
Before returning to New York on 18 February, the President met with H.E. General Taban Deng Gai, First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan to discuss the role of the youngest Member State of the United Nations in the General Assembly and the work of the United Nations on the ground there.
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