72nd session of UN General Assembly opens

General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak, in his first address in his new capacity, outlined the agenda of the meeting saying, “the session would see the negotiation of the first intergovernmental compact on migration and the signing of the first agreement on the elimination of nuclear weapons”.

It would also be a year of follow-up with regard to maintaining the momentum in implementing and financing the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring continued work on the Paris Agreement on climate change, he said.

On September 11th, Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak was sworn in as new UN General Assembly President of the 72nd session at the UN headquarters in New York.

Mr. Lajcak succeeds Fiji's former ambassador to the United Nations, Peter Thomson, who chaired the 71st session of the General Assembly.

Mr. Miroslav Lajcak, born in 1963, is currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was a candidate for the 2016 UN Secretary-General selection.

New President Miroslav Lajcak has assumed the office for the coming year, and promises to focus his attention on preventing the conflicts that have triggered mass migrations to Europe.

At the first plenary session of the assembly, Lajcak promised to work with member states. He told delegates that "consultations with member states will be a standing priority for me and my office. I want to stress that my door will always be open to you."

The General Assembly is the UN's largest body, where all 193 members have equal say, and for the next year, Miroslav Lajcak will serve as the maestro of this orchestra of nations./.