UN General Assembly
2013

On behalf of the President of the Republic of Angola, His Excellency Mr. José Eduardo dos Santos, whom I have the honour to represent before the Assembly, allow me to congratulate Ambassador John William Ashe on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session and to assure him of my country’s support in the fulfilment of that important and noble mission. I would also like to express our gratitude to His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi. for the effective manner in which he conducted the work of the previous session, and we salute Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his continued dedication to the cause of our Organization. This session of the General Assembly is taking place in a complex international climate, one where the intervention of the international community is needed to provide lasting solutions to conflicts that constitute serious threats to international peace and security. The prevalence of armed conflicts and their impact on populations, terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking, maritime piracy, environmental crimes and looting of resources, as well as extreme poverty,