The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has  said the new President of the 74th session of the General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande is bringing with him valuable insights coupled with his years of “United Nations experience.”

This as Mohammad-Bande received the leadership baton and banged the gavel to open his year in office.

According to UN News, Guterres also commended Bande on prioritising peace and security, poverty eradication, zero hunger, quality education, climate action and inclusion, all of which the UN chief called “central to the sustainable development agenda”.

“He also brings valuable insights into some of the pressing peace and security, human rights and sustainable development challenges facing this body, from the spread of violent extremism to the threat of the global climate crisis”, Guterres said.

“I also applaud your emphasis on human rights and gender parity,” he said.

Pointing to the “five critical summits” on climate action, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), financing for development, universal health care and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Guterres underscored that “multi-stakeholder engagement will be essential.”

Guterres noted that in today’s rapidly changing world, “challenges are global and increasingly interlinked.”

He added that because people have “profound” expectations of the UN there is need to express concern over the “trust deficit between nations,” maintaining that there is a pressing need to convince people that it is “relevant to all and that multilateralism offers real solutions to global challenges”.

“Transparency, dialogue, and greater understanding are essential to alleviating mistrust”, he spelled out, calling the Assembly “a unique and indispensable forum” for the world to come together and discuss “sensitive and important issues”.

He also stressed the importance of “strong and effective multilateral institutions and architecture”, and international relations that are based on international law.