President Sam Kutesa meets with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as he concludes his official visit to Algeria

Algiers – 8 June 2015

On June 8, 2015 at the end of his official visit to the People”s Democratic Republic of Algeria, H.E. Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa, President of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly, met with the country”s Head of State, H.E. Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who also served as President of the 29^th session of the General Assembly.

President Bouteflika and H.E. Sam Kutesa discussed the priorities of the 69^th session of the General Assembly, the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the upcoming Third Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), and the forthcoming twenty-first Conference of the Parties (COP21) on Climate Change.

They exchanged views on the  revitalization of the General Assembly,  the reform of the United Nations Security Council, as well as a wide range of international and regional issues including conflict prevention and resolution, peacebuilding and development, particularly on the African continent. President Kutesa congratulated Algeria for its leadership and important role played in the peace process in Mali by successfully brokering a peace accord which has been initialed and is expected to to be signed on June 20 2015.

The President of the General Assembly also commended the government of Algeria on its remarkable achievements on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially in the areas of education, health, and promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women.

Before meeting with the Algerian Head of State, H.E. Sam Kutesa held separate bilateral meetings on 6 June with H.E. Mr. Abdelmalek Sellal, Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Abdelkader Bensalah, President of the Council of the Nation, the Upper House of the Algerian Parliament and with H.E. Mr. Ramtane Lamamra, Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

On 7 June, President Kutesa met with H.E. Mr. Mohamed Larbi Ould Khelifa, President of the People”s National Assembly, the Lower House of the Algerian Parliament.

During these meetings, President Kutesa and his interlocutors highlighted the importance for ensuring a successful outcome from the Third Financing for Development Conference to be held from 13 to 16 July in Addis Ababa, with concrete deliverables to support the implementation of a transformative post-2015 development agenda.

On June 7 the President of the General Assembly delivered a Keynote Lecture on the theme “The United Nations at 70: Towards a Transformative Socio-Economic Development Agenda” at the Algerian Foreign Ministry which was attended by senior Algerian diplomats, officials and students of the Diplomatic Institute. H.E. Sam Kutesa outlined the work and activities of the United Nations in the areas of peace and security, development and human rights its achievements and challenges. President Kutesa noted that the United Nations had accomplished a lot over the last 70 years and would continue to do so. He stressed the need to continue aligning the UN to cope with the emerging challenges and to deliver better. He reiterated that the UN remains an indispensable organization that address global challenges which individual countries, however powerful, cannot handle on their own.