UN General Assembly
2018

At the outset, I would like to congratulate the President on her election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-third session. I would also like to thank her predecessor for his outstanding work during the previous session. Finally, I also want to convey my country’s appreciation of the valuable efforts being made by Secretary-General António Guterres. This year, the United Arab Emirates is celebrating the centennial of the birth of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of our union and a leader whose vision entrenched the basis and values of the noble humanity in my country and transformed it into a successful political, economic and social model. As we celebrate the centennial of the birth of our founding leader, we realize that we are not isolated from our surroundings and that our success has increased our humanitarian responsibilities as an Arab country towards a region that faces numerous challenges. Over the past few years, we have witnessed major changes in the international order, the consequences of which are becoming more apparent each day, most