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

United Nations Headquarters, New York

29 January 2021

 

PRESIDENT VOICES SUPPORT FOR MULTILINGUALISM TO FRANCOPHONE AMBASSADORS

  • This morning the President addressed the Group of Francophone Ambassadors, which is led by the Permanent Representative of Cote d’Ivoire.
  • In his remarks, which were partially delivered in French, he said he saw the value of having a multilingual UN and strengthening multilingualism across the UN system.
  • Noting that there are over 274 million French speakers in the world, he outlined steps that his Office is taking to better deliver on multilingualism – including through translating summaries of high-level meetings and summits. 

ALIGNMENT WILL LEAD TO STRONGER COVID-19 RECOVERY

  • The President will address closed intergovernmental consultations this afternoon on aligning the agendas of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and relevant subsidiary bodies – in order to best advance the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • The consultations will be convened by the Permanent Representatives of Bangladesh and Slovenia, who are the co-facilitators for this alignment process.
  • The goal is to address gaps, overlaps and duplication, which would lead to improved coordination, stronger recovery from COVID-19 and ultimately better service to the peoples of the world.