Mr. President,

Distinguished Heads of State and Government,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Congratulations on your election, Mr. President. Welcome, all, to New York in this beautiful autumn season.

It is a pleasure and an honor to be with you, at this opening of the general debate of our 62nd General Assembly. I expect the year ahead to be among the most challenging in our history. And I am sure that, together, we can make it one of the most successful.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a very great pleasure to be with you today, here on my first trip to Khartoum as Secretary-General.

I am happy to have a chance to address the UN Association in Sudan. And I am pleased to see so many students at this gathering, as well as representatives of civil society. The fact that I am meeting with you this evening, having only just stepped off my flight from Europe, testifies to the importance that I attach to this visit, and to this particular audience -- you in this room.

Thank you, Ambassador Lee, for your kind words. It is an honour and a pleasure to be among so many good friends and well-wishers.

As you all know, things can get rather hot for the UN in this city. That can sometimes prompt a decidedly cool reception for a visiting Secretary-General. So I guess it’s entirely appropriate that I should come to Washington to talk about global warming and climate change!

Ambassador Gregg, Chairman of the Korea Society,
Ambassador Revere, President,
Chairman Lee,
Ambassador Hill,
Ambassador Choi,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

It is truly a delight for my wife and me to be here. This is not like going out to dinner. This is like coming home.

In fact, it is my home. Let me welcome all of you to my residence. Owing to extensive renovation work at the official Secretary-General's residence at Sutton Place, I am still staying in this hotel.

I am honoured to be with you for this debate on a crucial subject, two days before International Women's Day.

Achieving gender equality and empowering women is a goal in itself.  It is also a condition for building healthier, better educated, more peaceful and more prosperous societies.

When women are fully empowered and engaged, all of society benefits.  Only in this way can we successfully take on the enormous challenges confronting our world -- from conflict resolution and peacebuilding to fighting AIDS and reaching all the other Millennium Development Goals.

Madam President,
Excellencies,

I am glad to be back at Headquarters, and grateful at this opportunity to meet with all of you for the first time in my capacity as Secretary-General. Madam President, thank you for making it possible.

Mesdames et Messieurs,

Je suis très ému par votre chaleureux accueil, auquel je suis très sensible.  Permettez-moi d'exprimer mes remerciements au Président de l'Union, le Président Denis Sassou Nguesso, et au Président de la Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, pour leur action à la tête de l'Union et pour l'engagement qu'ils ont pris de coopérer étroitement avec l'Organisation des Nations Unies et avec moi-même personnellement.

I thank you warmly for your congratulations.  Madam President, Secretary-General Annan, let me say how much I appreciate your words of encouragement as I contemplate the responsibilities that lie before me.

I stand before all of you today deeply mindful of the words of the oath I have just taken.  Loyalty, discretion, conscience -- these, together with the Charter, will be my watchwords as I carry out my duties as Secretary-General.