UN General Assembly
2009

First of all, I would like very warmly to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. I am certain that, thanks to your recognized experience and wisdom, you will be able to enrich our discussions and provide an appropriate framework for our deliberations. That will ensure that, through our joint efforts, this session is a productive and special one that strengthens the role and improves the work of the Organization as the principal international body for multilateral action and the fulcrum of our joint efforts. I should also like to commend your predecessor, Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, for his efforts during the previous session, which we appreciate. I also thank and commend His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. We are pleased to see concrete trends towards enhancing multilateralism in the United Nations. We are convinced that such a course of action is the best and most effective way to reach agreement and take up the complex international challenges we face. These challenges cannot be confronted by one country on its