PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VOLKAN BOZKIR

United Nations Headquarters, New York

20 January 2021

SOMALIA: PRESIDENT DISCUSSES PRIORITIES & UPCOMING ELECTIONS WITH FOREIGN MINISTER

  • The President held an in-person meeting this morning with Somalia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, H.E. Mr. Mohamed Abdirizak Mohamud.
  • They discussed the priorities of the 75th session, including strengthening multilateralism and global cooperation related to COVID-19, advancing the humanitarian agenda, and eradicating poverty as a means to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • They also discussed the situation in Somalia, including the upcoming elections. The President acknowledged Somalia’s role at the United Nations and expressed gratitude for its support to his presidency.

PRESIDENT & TOP BIODIVERSITY OFFICIAL CONSIDER WAYS TO ADVANCE BIODIVERSITY AGENDA

  • The President met virtually this morning with Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
  • They discussed ways to advance the biodiversity agenda as movement continues towards the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention – or COP15 – in Kunming, China.

ASSEMBLY TO CONSIDER NEW RESOLUTION ON SAFEGUARDING RELIGIOUS SITES

  • Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., the General Assembly will hold an informal plenary meeting, in which the President will brief UN Member States about his priorities for the resumed part of the seventy-fifth session.
  • Immediately following that, there will be a formal plenary meeting to consider a new draft resolution entitled “Promoting a culture of peace and tolerance to safeguard religious sites”.
  • The text was presented to the President one week ago by the Permanent Representatives of Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
  • If adopted tomorrow, the Assembly would invite the Secretary-General “to convene a global conference involving United Nations entities, Member States, political figures, religious leaders, faith-based organizations, media, civil society and other relevant stakeholders.”
  • That conference would aim “to contribute to spearheading political support for specific actions” to take forward the United Nations Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites.