UN General Assembly
2016

First of all, allow me to congratulate Mr. Peter Thomson on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-first session. I hope that his able stewardship will lead this session to a successful outcome. I also hope that this session, under the theme “Sustainable Development Goals: a universal push to transform our world”, will make a meaningful contribution to promoting the peaceful development and prosperity of all countries. Peace and security are the permanent themes of the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals presuppose peace and security. Even at this very moment, when the United Nations aspires to a transformation through sustainable development, the world is besieged with the wild wind of terrorism, an unprecedented war-driven refugee crisis and an increasing number of global hot spots.