Deputy Prime Minister to participate in annual meeting of Council of Presidents osf the UN General Assembly

Deputy Prime Minister to participate in annual meeting of Council of Presidents osf the UN General Assembly

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Guido de Marco is in New York where he is participating in the Annual Meeting of the Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly. The Meeting, which will be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, will bring together a considerable number of former Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly.

In New York, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs is also expected to meet with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan.

On 18th September 1990, Prof. Guido de Marco was elected President of the 45th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. During his Presidency, Prof de Marco initiated a dialogue that later led to negotiations on the revitalisation of the General Assembly and other aspects of United Nations reform necessary during a period of transition in international relations. Prof. de Marco also proposed a new role for the United Nations Trusteeship Council, an initiative that was pursued by Malta and which is still under discussion.

Representing the General Assembly, as its President, Prof. de Marco spearheaded a number of important diplomatic initiatives leading to his visit to the refugee camps in the Occupied Territories and Jordan, to Ethiopia, Albania and Chernobyl. As President of the United Nations General Assembly, Prof. de Marco also visited South Korea and the Democratic Republic of Korea for talks at the highest political level with the result that, soon afterwards, both countries were admitted members of the United Nations.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Guido de Marco, who is accompanied by Mr. Walter Balzan, arrives back in Malta on Wednesday.

23.11.98