UN General Assembly
2018

At the outset, it is my pleasure to congratulate Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés on her assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-third session and to wish her every success in her work. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Mr. Miroslav Lajčák for the remarkable effectiveness and professionalism with which he led the General Assembly at its previous session. I would be remiss if I did not also commend Secretary-General António Guterres for his great efforts and noble endeavours to reform and steer our Organization in the service of international peace and security. And I want to offer my heartfelt and sincere condolences on the passing of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who was known for his honesty, compassion and noble spirit. I had the honour to work closely with him on several issues, particularly the situation in Syria.