General Assembly President holds wide-ranging talks with UK officials

The President of the General Assembly held talks today with British officials in London on issues such as United Nations reform and the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as recent developments in several global hotspots.

During his one-day visit to the United Kingdom, Joseph Deiss met with Foreign Secretary William Hague. The issues they discussed included global governance and the situations in Libya and Côte d’Ivoire.

Talks with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development Stephen O’Brien focused on the MDGs – the set of eight globally agreed targets that seek to halve world poverty by 2015 by combating hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

The other subjects they discussed included several upcoming UN meetings concerning the least developed countries (LDCs); HIV/AIDS; and non-communicable diseases.

Mr. Deiss also held talks with the Minister of State for the UN in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Henry Bellingham, on the green economy and the preparations for the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development, among other elements.

In all of his discussions, the President thanked the UK for its strong commitment to the world body.