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Bucharest, Romania, 19 June 2018\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Today the President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k, received an honorary doctorate from the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, in Bucharest, Romania.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Delivering a lecture, the President gave his assessment of the state of play in international affairs and diplomacy.<\/p>\n He told the audience that \u201cmultilateralism has been around for hundreds of years\u201d and that \u201cevery time we nearly destroyed the world, we built it back up with multilateralism.\u201d But only the creation of the United Nations\u00a0 \u201cestablished real multilateralism\u201d.<\/p>\n He said, \u201cOur history books are very clear; they show that the greatest achievements of humanity have come from working together. True power lies in dialogue \u2013 not military force.\u201d At the same time, he added, \u201cWe need multilateralism now, more than ever before. But, paradoxically, it has never faced more threats\u201d.<\/p>\n The President called attention to what he saw as \u201ca genuine and an urgent crisis of leadership\u201d. He warned that \u201cpointing fingers everywhere but at ourselves\u201d can stagnate progress, drive us farther apart, and fuel divisions and intolerance.<\/p>\n He also told the gathering of largely Romanian academics and students, \u201cWe are meeting only a few hundred miles from where some of the worst atrocities of this generation happened. And as we all remember, they did not happen overnight. They came from a gradual breakdown of principles and norms, which are there to protect us all\u201d.<\/p>\n He concluded by calling on participants to stand up for a multilateral world.<\/p>\n While in Bucharest, President Laj\u010d\u00e1k also met with Romania\u2019s President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.<\/p>\n In his meeting with the President of Romania, H.E. Mr. Klaus Werner Iohannis, Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k commended Romania\u2019s strong commitment to multilateralism. The two also talked about sustainable development, migration and Romania\u2019s upcoming Presidency of the Council of Europe.<\/p>\n With the Prime Minister of Romania, H.E. Mrs. Viorica D\u0103ncil\u0103, President Laj\u010d\u00e1k talked about the universality of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Romania\u2018s participation in the High-level Political Forum taking place next month in New York, and the upcoming high-level meetings on tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases.<\/p>\n President Laj\u010d\u00e1k briefed H.E. Mr. Teodor Mele\u0219canu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania, on upcoming items on the agenda of the General Assembly, as well as the status of the negotiations on the Global Compact for Safe, orderly and Regular Migration. During the meeting, they also discussed climate change and regional developments.<\/p>\n Mr. Laj\u010d\u00e1k also met with the Foreign Policy Adviser to the President, H.E. Mr. Bogdan Aurescu, and the Secretary of State for Strategic Affairs, H.E. Mr. Dan Necul\u0103escu, to talk about the work of the General Assembly and regional developments<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n