The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, this Monday praised the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, noting that, thanks to his persistence, he has achieved “small steps, even in difficult areas.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke to reporters at UN headquarters in New York after meeting with Antonio Guterres.
The head of state said António Guterres had shown “great consistency” since taking office as UN Secretary-General in early 2017, “identifying certain goals as priorities” such as climate and sustainable development targets, and “persevered for these purposes, for these purposes.”
“There have been all sorts of problems in between, perhaps the most recent being the pandemic and the war. [na Ucrânia]”, but before that there was a difficulty of mutual understanding that existed between the great powers at decisive moments,” he noted.
According to the President of the Republic, faced with “systematic paralysis of the Security Council”, now “the role of the General Assembly is becoming increasingly important, but the Secretary General is the central figure.”
“He doesn’t give up on his goals, he doesn’t give up on his tasks. At the same time, he continues the dialogue with those who do not talk to each other, but manage to do so, the General talks to the Secretary of State. And therefore makes small steps even in difficult areas,” he added.
The President of the Republic arrived in New York on Sunday evening to attend the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
The general debate between the heads of state and government of the 193 UN member states will begin on Tuesday, the day Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will speak.
The 78th session of the UN General Assembly is dedicated to the theme “Restoring trust and reviving global solidarity: accelerating action to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all people.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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