Mr. Ashe is President of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

On June 14, the United Nations General Assembly elected Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda, Mr. John William Ashe, as President of the 68th United Nations General Assembly for a one-year term, starting next September, replacing former Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic whose term ends.

Speaking before the General Assembly immediately after his election, Mr. Ashe called on member states to cooperate so that the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly can work effectively.

Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda, Mr. John William Ashe.
(Source: ssc.undp.org)

He said the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly will implement an agenda related to sustainable development for all countries. This is considered one of the most ambitious and daring projects of the United Nations.

According to Mr. Ashe, along with lessons learned from the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the above program will focus on reflecting new development challenges, paying special attention to two main goals: overcoming poverty, overcoming insecurity and ensuring sustainable development.

With this spirit, Mr. Ashe decided to choose the theme of the 68th United Nations General Assembly as "Post-2015 Development Agenda: Making it Real." According to him, development in general and sustainable development in particular will be the core goal, demonstrating better awareness of the international community.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warmly congratulated Mr. Ashe, and highly appreciated his experience as Co-Chair of the Preparatory Body for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro (Rio + 20) and Chair of the Group of 77 Developing Countries (G77).

Mr. Ashe served at the Diplomatic Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations for more than 20 years and has served as the country's Ambassador to the United Nations since 2004. He also served as Antigua and Barbuda's Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and as the government's chief negotiator in negotiations on sustainable development issues./.

According to (TTXVN) - DT