New York – 15 June 2015
H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, Speaker of the Parliament of Denmark and President-Elect of the 70th Session of the General Assembly,
Excellencies,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I congratulate His Excellency Speaker Mogens Lykketoft on his election, by acclamation, as President of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaker Lykketoft brings a wealth of experience to this position. He is currently a Speaker of Parliament, and previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark from 2000-2001 and Minister of Finance from 1993-2001.
I am confident that these important leadership positions have equipped him well to lead this august body in its 70th session.
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
The 70th session will be historic. We will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, adopt an ambitious and transformative post-2015 development agenda, as well as work towards a universal climate change agreement in December, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
With these important milestones approaching, we still have important preparatory work during this 69th session. In particular, the negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda and the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), to be held next month in Addis Ababa, have reached a critical stage. We have to redouble our efforts in order to ensure successful outcomes.
Once again, I congratulate Speaker Lykketoft on his election and have confidence that he will ably steward the work of this august body. I look forward to supporting him over the coming months as he prepares to assume the responsibilities of President of the General Assembly at its 70th session.
I thank you
