Assembly President discusses key issues with dozens of world leaders

General Assembly President Joseph Deiss has held meetings with dozens of world leaders and other senior officials and heads of regional groups on the sidelines of high-level events at United Nations Headquarters in New York over the past several days.

During his meetings, Mr. Deiss stressed that commitments made by both developed and developing nations carry equal weight, voicing hope that the Assembly will have a positive and constructive 65th session to support global issues as well as the Middle East peace process.

During the high-level gathering on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Conference on Disarmament, and the Assembly’s annual high-level debate, he met with the leaders of Finland, Turkey, Cameroon, the United States and Timor-Leste, among others.

He also held talks with ministers from countries including Bahrain, China, Ecuador, Germany, Tunisia, Brazil and Nepal, as well as with regional groups such as the League of Arab States and the African Union.

For his part, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held several bilateral meetings this week, including with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kousa and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.