The Maldives on Monday won the election to the post of the President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA), during the elections held at the UN headquarters in New York.
According to a statement from Maldives' foreign ministry, the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid won the election with 143 votes, out of a total of 191 votes cast.
This is the first time Maldives will be occupying the office of the PGA. The Maldives had announced Shahid's candidature in December 2018 for the Asia-Pacific Group's turn for the session that would commence on September 14, when no other candidate was in the fray.
Shahid is eminently qualified to hold the office of PGA, with vast diplomatic experience and strong credentials, especially in the multilateral fora, said sources.
India announced its support for Shahid during the visit of Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla to the Maldives in November 2020. Even at that time, he was the only candidate in the fray, according to sources.
The External Affairs Minister of India, S Jaishankar also conveyed his felicitations to Shahid on this accomplishment.
"Heartiest felicitations to Foreign Minister of Maldives @abdulla_shahid on his election as President for 76th UN General Assembly," 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," the minister added.