United Nations, 10 November 2017 –The President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, today launched “Morning Dialogues”, a new series of informal discussions between Permanent Representatives to the United Nations on topics of concern to the Organization.

Describing the initiative, the President said, “I’m launching this series because I believe in the power of dialogue. It has become routine for diplomats to read out prepared statements. But I think we can all do more to foster a culture of real communication. I hope the Morning Dialogues will provide a platform for us to truly listen to each other and exchange views in a frank and constructive way.”

The President will convene and chair these gatherings, each of which will be limited to a maximum of 20 individuals. The goal is to involve representatives of all 193 Member States over the course of the 72nd session.

Two dialogues will be held every month. Ambassadors will be participating in their personal capacities. As these are not meant to be official meetings, no formal outcomes are expected.

The first dialogue today focused on women’s participation and the inclusion of gender aspects in the General Assembly’s work and processes. Sixteen women Permanent Representatives attended, including: H.E. Mrs. Elisenda Vives Balmaña of Andorra; H.E. Ms. Maria Emma Mejía Vélez of Colombia; H.E. Mrs. Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo of Cuba; H.E. Mrs. Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee of Ghana; H.E. Ms. Maria Theofili of Greece; H.E. Ms. Keisha A. McGuire of Grenada; H.E. Ms. Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake of Honduras; H.E. Ms. Mirgul Moldoisaeva of Kyrgyzstan; H.E. Ms. Audra Plepytė of Lithuania; H.E. Ms. Laura Elena Flores Herrera of Panama; H.E. Ms. Inga Rhonda King of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; H.E. Ms. Darja Bavdaž Kuret of Slovenia; H.E. Ms. Maria Helena Lopes de Jesus Pires of Timor-Leste; H.E. Ms. Pennelope Althea Beckles of Trinidad and Tobago; H.E. Mrs. Aksoltan T. Ataeva of Turkmenistan; and H.E. Mrs. Nguyen Phuong Nga of Viet Nam.

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For more information and media inquiries, please contact:

Brenden Varma, Spokesperson for the President of the 72nd Session of the General Assembly, +1-212-963-7238, +1-347-556-3433, varmab@un.org