Opening of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly
On the afternoon of September 9th, or early morning of September 10th in Vietnam time, the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA-80) officially opened at UN headquarters in New York City (USA).
According to the VNA correspondent in New York, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has been sworn in as the new President of the 80th session of the General Assembly, thus becoming one of the youngest Presidents (44 years old) to hold this position.
UNGA-80 will operate until September 8, 2026 (a one-year session) with the overarching theme of "Better Together" to promote international solidarity, multilateralism, peace and security, development, and human rights.
The highlight of UNGA-80 will be the High-Level Week, taking place from September 22-30, with the participation of numerous heads of state, government leaders, and high-ranking officials from all 193 UN member states. UNGA-80 coincides with the 80th anniversary of the world's largest multilateral organization and comes at a time when the world is facing a range of traditional and emerging challenges.
International observers expect the 80th session of the General Assembly, as the UN's main policy-making body, to contribute to organizational reforms that are more responsive, effective, transparent, and better meet global needs.
Earlier that day, speaking at the closing session of the 79th UN General Assembly, UNGA-79 President Philemon Yang affirmed that the UN Charter and the organization itself represent a shared commitment to a better future world. Mr. Yang called on the international community to “work together to demonstrate that multilateralism can bring about better, wiser outcomes for everyone, everywhere.”
For his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shared the assessment that UNGA-79 witnessed a world going through an extremely turbulent time, including conflict, division, inequality, poverty, injustice, migration, famine, and a year of record-breaking heat…
In that context, UNGA-79 collectively faced challenges and made efforts to discuss, debate, and develop common solutions to overcome them together.
Secretary-General Guterres also commended the contributions of UNGA-79 Chair Philemon Yang, who has demonstrated vision, skill, and tireless efforts in promoting multilateral solutions to the world's problems.