UN elects Fiji ambassador to top General Assembly post

The U.N. General Assembly chose Fiji's U.N. Ambassador on Monday as president of its 71st session beginning in September.

Ambassador Peter Thomson was one of two nominees for the year-long post along with Cyprus Ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis. Thomson won in a close 94 to 90 vote with seven invalid ballots and one abstention.

Current assembly President Mogens Lykketoft announced the winner of the secret-ballot election as diplomats from the U.N.'s 193 member states burst into applause.

A former General Assembly vice president, Thomson said all members are bound together by the 17 U.N. goals adopted last September by world leaders to end poverty, promote development and equality, and preserve the environment.

"We have to implement that agenda," he said. "It's there for the good of our children and our grandchildren. Without it their future will be in jeopardy. With it we will have a sustainable place on this planet."
Source : WAM