Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has been elected the President of the United Nations General Assembly by a huge margin.
Minister Shahid became the first Maldivian to occupy this high office.
He secured 143 of the 191 votes. His opponent, former Afghanistan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul could secure only 48 votes.
Indian diplomat, Nagaraj Naidu, Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, is expected to be Minister Shahid’s Chef de Cabinet at the UN.
The two countries have been working very closely at the UN.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar congratulated Minister Abdulla Shahid on his victory.
He tweeted, “Heartiest felicitations to Foreign Minister of Maldives @abdulla_shahid on his election as President for 76th UN General Assembly.”
In another tweet, he said, “This is a testimony as much to his own stature as to the standing of Maldives. We look forward to working with him to strengthen multilateralism and its much needed reforms.”
Minister Shahid would be president till September 2022.
