UNITED NATIONS – United Nations General Assembly President, Maria FernandaEspinosa arrives in Pakistan on Friday for her first trip to any Asiancountry since assuming the senior UN position, a visit that she said wouldstrengthen the world body’s ties with Islamabad in promotingmultilateralism.
The first visit by a General Assembly president in over 8 years willinvolve engagements on a range of issues that are among the priorities ofPrime Minister Imran Khan’s government.
On the eve of her departure for Islamabad, the 193-member Assemblypresident said that Pakistan plays an “important role in strengtheningmultilateralism and to contributing to (UN) peacekeeping operations.”
Espinosa said she looks forward to strengthening the ties between Pakistanand the UN, promoting multilateralism and continuing her work with Pakistanon the priorities for the 73rd session of the General Assembly.
She thanked the Pakistan government for the invitation to visit the country.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi, flew to LondonWednesday on her way to Islamabad to be on hand for the Assemblypresident’s five-day visit.
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The Assembly president is scheduled to meet President Dr. Arif Alvi, PrimeMinister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as well asrepresentatives of the civil society and the UN.
In the course of her talks with the Pakistani leadership, Ms. Espinosa willbe briefed on the deteriorating situation in Indian occupied Kashmir.
Before leaving New York, Ambassador Lodhi said that the General Assemblypresident’s visit marks the enhanced engagement between Pakistan and the UNand can be expected to take to an even more intense level.
