UN General Assembly
2012

﻿At the outset, I would like to offer the President and his friendly country, the Republic of Serbia, my warmest congratulations on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I would also like to express my appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, from the brotherly State of Qatar, for the exemplary way in which he conducted the work of the previous session. I would also like to take this opportunity to convey my appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his role and efforts in improving the Organization’s working mechanisms, and to wish him every success in his endeavours. The record of the United Nations includes numerous positive and tangible achievements that have helped to promote international peace and security and reach a political consensus on many regional and international issues. In our Middle East region, the Syrian crisis continues to be of great concern, owing to the great loss of life and property that it has caused and the instability that it has produced in the region and the world as a