UN General Assembly
2017

I would like to deliver the following message on behalf of Mr. Patrice Talon, President, Head of State and Head of Government of the Republic of Benin. “At the outset, I would like to reiterate my warm congratulations to the President on his election to lead the General Assembly at its seventy-second session and to assure him of my country’s support in the fulfilment of his mandate. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank his predecessor, Mr. Peter Thomson, for his efforts. I would like to once again warmly congratulate Secretary- General António Guterres and assure him of our full support and, lastly, to pay tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Ban Ki-moon. “I extend my condolences and my sympathies to the Governments and the peoples of the United States, France, Mexico and Sierra Leone and all the countries in the Caribbean that have been victims of recent natural disasters.