Council, 130th session (C 130), 21-24 November 2023 – closing remarks

Council, 130th session (C 130), 21-24 November 2023 – closing remarks

CLOSING REMARKS C 130

SECRETARY-GENERAL KITACK LIM

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, and observers,

We have reached the end of the 130th session of the Council, and I am certain that you will all agree that this has been an incredibly productive session.

First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your significant contributions, which have been instrumental in achieving a successful outcome for this session.

Distinguished delegates,

Allow me to highlight some of the achievements made during this session:

Most importantly you approved the Strategic Plan for the Organization for the six-year period 2024 to 2029, setting the course for the Organization for the next six years, an important achievement that all of you can be proud of.

You also approved the budget for the 2024-2025 biennium, and I would like to express my deepest appreciation for the trust and the confidence you put into the Secretariats preparation of a balanced budget.

And rest assured that despite the challenges we face, the Secretariat stands ready to deliver on the ever-expanding work programme.

I also like to commend your commitment to multilingualism which you have now reinforced through your agreement on an Assembly resolution, to be forwarded for consideration at the Assemby 33rd.

You have also agreed to amend the Terms of Reference of the Intersessional Working Group on relations with NGOs, making it more inclusive and enhancing its mandate.

You have endorsed the first recipient of the Gender Equality Award, and in this regard, I would like to once again congratulate Ms. Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou the Government of the Republic of Cyprus and all the recipients of Letters of Commendation. I would also like to express my deep appreciation to all the remaining candidates and to the Governments and organizations that nominated candidates for the Awards, as well as the members of the Assessment Panel for their support and dedication.

I want to express my gratitude to the Chair of the Council, Mr. Victor Jimenez Fernandez of Spain, for his exemplary leadership, which allowed us to navigate through a busy agenda with a great efficiency, also for the last two years.

My appreciation also extends to the Vice-Chair, Ms. Amane Fethallah of Morocco, for her valuable support of the Council meeting. I would also like to thank Mr. Darrick Leow of Singapore for skilfully leading the Working Group on the Strategic Plan that finalized the Strategic Plan for 2024 to 2029.

My gratitude goes to the hardworking staff of the Secretariat for the immense support for this meeting. Special appreciation goes to Mrs. Azara Prempeh, Director of the Administrative Division for the capable coordination of the meeting supported by Ms. Alexandra Szczepanski and to the staff of my Office led by Mr. Damien Chevallier, Chief of Staff, and the Administrative Division, and the Legal Affairs and External Relations Division led by Ms. Dorota Lost-Sieminska, all of whose dedication and efforts have been instrumental in making this meeting a resounding success, and to the Conference Division, including translators, interpreters and to the Department of Information and Technology for their support.

My heartfelt thanks also go to the Cafeteria team, under the leadership of their Manager, Frances and also Head Chef, Kamal, for ensuring that we were well nourished during our busy deliberations.

Distinguished delegates,

It now remains for me to thank you for your valuable comments, exceptional level of cooperation, collaboration and contribution to this Council session, as well as your kind words to me at this session.

I am looking forward to seeing you all next week for the 33rd regular session of the Assembly.

I wish you all a pleasant and restful weekend, with stunning autumn landscape of unique Britain's landscape

Thank you Chair.