UNGA President Maria Fernanda Espinosa To Visit Pakistan Next Week

Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published January 12, 2019 | 02:00 AM

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Jan, 2019 ) :The UN General Assembly President, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, will visit Pakistan from January 18 to 22 at the invitation of Pakistani government, her Spokesperson Monica Grayley announced Friday.

This will be the first visit of the 193-member Assembly's president to the Asia-Pacific region since she took office in September, the spokesperson told the regular noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

"The President of the General Assembly looks forward to strengthening the ties between Pakistan and the UN, promoting multilateralism and continuing her work with Pakistan on the priorities for the 73rd Session of the General Assembly," she told reporters.

During her five-day visit, the president, who is also foreign minister of Ecuador, will meet with meet President Dr.

Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, as well as representatives of the UN and of civil society.

The Assembly president's delegation includes her Chef de Cabinet, a senior advisor, a communication specialist, her coordination officer and her personal assistant.

Ms. Espinosa is only the fourth female President of the UN General Assembly in its 73-year history.

Earlier this week, she nominated Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations, Maleeha Lodhi, to help organize a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child during its 74th session, which begins in September.