According to the official announcement, the new cycle will function under the theme “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.”

Francis, who was elected president for the 78th term in June, also announced the promotion of education as a universal right among his priorities.

“When the international community postpones or refuses to offer its support to the millions who lack access to quality education, is it not condemning them to an intergenerational cycle of poverty, degradation and misery?” the representative wondered.

In order to save these children and young people from almost certain defeat, the world must provide them, through education, with the option to choose and the ability to self-actualize for the benefit of themselves and their communities, he emphasized.

This is a compelling argument for a comprehensive effort to reinvigorate action to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he said.

North Macedonia will preside over the Assembly this year, followed by the other countries in alphabetical order in English, after a traditional ceremony at which the Secretary-General chooses the country that leads the distribution of positions in a draw.

Bolivia, Congo, Estonia, the Gambia, Iceland, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Zambia will serve as vice presidents of the UN General Assembly, in addition to the five permanent members of the Security Council (China, the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom), which play this role annually.

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