On 21 July 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Abdulla Shahid, to discuss Latvia’s active contribution to the UN agenda and the international impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In a discussion on support by Latvian and UN institutions to Ukraine and its people, Rinkēvičs emphasized the need for more active involvement of the UN in stopping Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and holding Russia accountable
Edgars Rinkēvičs positively acknowledged the focus of Shahid’s presidency in the UN General Assembly on geopolitical challenges, mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and issues of sustainable development and gender equality.
During the meeting, both officials discussed the potential of developing bilateral relations between Latvia and the Maldives.
During the visit, the President of the UN General Assembly is scheduled to meet with senior Latvian officials and the Chairman of the Riga City Council, as well as visit the Riga Support Center for the Residents of Ukraine and Riga Technical University. On 22 July, Mr. Shahid will take part in a roundtable discussion on achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals amid increasing global geopolitical challenges, which will be jointly organized by the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Library of Latvia.
Background information
This is the first visit of the President of the UN General Assembly to Latvia.
All the 193 UN member states are represented in the General Assembly, which acts as the main decision-making body of the UN. The General Assembly convenes annually in September and meets throughout the year. At the beginning of each session, the General Assembly elects a new president on a rotating basis. Abdulla Shahid became the President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, representing the Asia-Pacific region, and will hold the position until September this year. Mr. Shahid was reappointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives in 2018.