Turkish diplomat elected as President of UN General Assembly

Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir has been elected as the President of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, the Foreign Ministry in Ankara has announced. The MP for the ruling Justice and Development Party and head of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee was elected by an overwhelming majority of UN Member States.

Sole candidate Bozkir received 178 votes in the ballot on Wednesday. Eleven states abstained.

“I am thankful to all UN member states for electing me with an overwhelming majority,” Bozkir said on Twitter. “As we mark the 75th anniversary of the UN, I will guide the efforts to contribute to international peace, in the challenging times we live in.”

“Ambassador Bozkir is expected to take office as the President of the General Assembly on 15 September 2020 for one year,” explained the Foreign Ministry.

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Among the messages of congratulations, the Head of the Chancellor’s Office in Mexico, Fabian Medina, tweeted late on Wednesday that Bozkir “will occupy the honourable post in challenging times when strong leadership is needed.”

Members of the Kashmiri diaspora in the US also sent their congratulations. “If the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir had the freedom to express their sentiments,” Ghulam Nabi Fai of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum told MEMO, “you would no doubt have heard their loud voice rejoicing at the fact that the distinguished representative of a brother country – Turkey – will be presiding over the parliament of nations.”

India, Mexico, Ireland and Norway were elected as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, also in a vote on Wednesday, for a term of 2 years.