New York, September 16 (QNA) - HE Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric, stressed that the participation of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 77) reflects the commitment of the State of Qatar to the United Nations and its keenness on achieving the goals of the international organization.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency, he said that the State of Qatar has long participated in the meetings of the United Nations with the highest levels of representation, which helped demonstrate over the years the role the State of Qatar plays and the support it provides to the United Nations, whether in terms of financing, development support or assistance to least developed countries. He highlighted the "the critical political role that Qatar has played on the issue of Afghanistan, or on issues less visible sometimes like Chad, or the bridge builder between Iran and the West as a geographical and diplomatic bridge builder. Qatar has really played a central role for the for us at the United Nations."
He also affirmed the appreciation and gratitude of the United Nations to the State of Qatar for its mediation in many regional and global conflicts, and, in this context, reiterated thanks to the State of Qatar for its assistance in evacuating United Nations staff from Kabul more than a year ago.
"I think the, the, the Secretary general was very moved by the Amir and the government's assistance in that regard. There's of course the continued role that Qatar plays in terms of being the bridge between the de facto authorities in Kabul and the rest of the world. Qatar is sort of a diplomatic hub for Afghanistan. We know a number of embassies who moved from Kabul to Doha, and that's been extremely important and that is something we have taken advantage of," he added.
The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General also commended the Qatari mediation in Chad, saying that it shows the importance of the State of Qatar shows to the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflicts.
"I think the efforts of Qatar in Chad, in Afghanistan and on Iran, on trying to diffuse the tension between Iran, the international community are invaluable.
The UN official also expressed his belief that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will be a great edition of the competition, noting that UN agencies are cooperating with Qatar to use the World Cup a platform promoting sustainable development goals and understanding.
"Sports is a great unifier. It will have countries that barely speak to each other within the halls of the United Nations," he added.
"I have no doubt that the World Cup will go off amazingly well. I think Qatar has shown to be a wonderful host for diplomatic initiatives and I have no doubt it will be a wonderful host for this global event. Really, there is no event like the World Cup," Dujarric said.
He also expressed his hope that his country France will win the World Cup, but also wished that the Qatari team makes a strong showing during the competition.
On the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, and the most prominent issues on the agenda, the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said that the General Assembly is being held this year in light of a crisis affecting the world, and that the United Nations is the place where crises are resolved, and that countries come to it to sit at the negotiating table.
"This is a special year, first of all, because it is the first time we are back in person since the start of the of the pandemic. It's a chance for world leaders to see each other and for the Secretary general to interact with them."
He pointed out that Ukraine will be at the top of the Assembly's agenda, particularly the effects of the ongoing war in the country on the global economy, energy prices, food prices, fertilizers, and climate change.
He said that the world is facing many crises, whether it is conflict, climate change, energy crises, food crises, terrorism, health, and a global pandemic.
"These are moments where it is important to reaffirm the centrality of multilateralism, the centrality of a United Nations. Where all countries can come together and work on these challenges, because whether you talk about climate, whether you talk about terrorism or viruses, there is no way one country can deal with these issues alone," he added.
On whether there was any hope of an end to the war in Ukraine soon, he said that the UN "wish it was in our power to end it right in. As in any war, the power to end the war lies with those who are holding the guns."
He added that the United Nations is currently working with Russia and Ukraine on the "Global Black Sea Grain Initiative" which opens the markets for Ukrainian grain as well as Russian grains and fertilizers given the two countries’ status as one of the biggest producers and exporters of grains and food products.
"The fact that they've not really been able to export since the beginning of the war had a huge impact on the spike of the price of food and fertilizer, which has had very damaging impact on the developing world. So because of the Secretary General's efforts, we were able to push down the price of food at the global level," he said.
He also noted that the United Nations deals with the situation in Ukraine from different levels. On the humanitarian front, it currently has a staff of a thousand people working to help the Ukrainian people, providing them with food and providing them with shelter.
Dujarric also discussed, in his remarks to QNA, the other topics pertaining to the current UN General Assembly session, and its prospects for success in light of the current conditions and the role the UN Secretary-General will play in that regard. He noted that the Secretary-General has limited actual powers, but great moral powers and the ability to speak out.
"In the past year or in the past six months since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, he's been very strong, very direct in calling on Member States to work together to deal with these challenges, notably on climate change," he said.
He added that the UN Secretary-General plays a convening role, but cannot compel any given member to change their policy or behavior.
He said that debate on reforming the United Nations began after the very first week of its founding in 1945.
"The world changes, the United Nations need to change with it. And of course it has grown from 50 countries to 193. And I think what is also important is to see how the UN has evolved from, what we call a talk shop, where people just come to talk to an operational agency, the peacekeeping, humanitarian, political mediations. Those political missions were not Things that we imagined when the Charter was signed, but they evolved and they were created. Now of course at the center of the UN in terms of peace and security is the Security Council and we know where the power lies. 5 Veto wielding members. They in a sense have not changed since 1945," he said.
He highlighted that the current Secretary-General and many of his predecessor spoke about reforming the UN Security Council to make it more relevant and enhance its credibility.
"Most of the peacekeeping work in in the Security Council is done in Africa, yet there is no African voice on the Security Council, permanent voice, there is no voice from the Arab world. So these are things that Member States themselves have to agree on and it's something they've been talking about and hopefully there could be some resolution," he said. (QNA)