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General Assembly President and US leader hold wide-ranging talks at UN

General Assembly President and US leader hold wide-ranging talks at UN

President of the General Assembly Ali Treki (left) with United States President Barack Obama
The new President of the General Assembly, Ali Treki, held wide-ranging talks with United States President Barack Obama today, broaching peace and security, climate change, the Middle East conflict, the Darfur conflict in Sudan, disarmament and African development.

Dr. Treki voiced appreciation for Mr. Obama’s speech in Cairo earlier this year to the Muslim world, which he said opened the door for promoting more effectively the dialogue among civilizations, his spokesperson said in a statement.

He expressed support for the US President’s efforts to promote peace in the Middle East and noted that progress on this front will be extremely encouraging for international peace and security.

Praising Mr. Obama’s recent speech in Accra, Ghana, he noted that with its vast resources, the African continent has great potential and needs to be supported through trade and foreign investment.

Mr. Obama said in Accra that his administration was giving priority to developing a partnership with the African continent, with special focus on food security, development and governance, today’s statement said.

The two leaders discussed the efforts for the maintenance of peace and security in Africa, particularly the cooperation between all sides with regard to the situation in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

Mr. Obama said a special meeting organized by the US with the top troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations aimed to acknowledge the important contribution of peacekeepers and to discuss ways of making UN peacekeeping more effective.

The two also exchanged views on the Security Council summit meeting on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament to be held on 24 September under the current US presidency of the Security Council.

Dr. Treki expressed support for Mr. Obama’s new approach to missile defence and disarmament. The two also discussed the important role of women in promoting the objectives of peace and security and development, the statement concluded.