NEW YORK: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was on Friday appointed for a second term to helm the 193-member world organization. “Antonio Guterres reappointed for second term as UN Secretary-General,” the UN said in a tweet.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first to send a congratulatory message to Guterres, the Kremlin said. “The decision of the General Assembly fully confirms your high political authority. I am sure that your activity will, as before, serve to increase the effectiveness of the UN mechanisms, strengthen the coordinating role of the organization in world affairs,” Putin told Guterres, as quoted by Sputnik.
On Tuesday, India had welcomed the adoption of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution recommending a second term to Antonio Guterres as UN Secretary-General. “India welcomes the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution recommending a second term to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,” tweeted T S Tirumurti, Ambassador of India to the UN.
Under the UN Charter, the General Assembly elects the secretary-general on the recommendation of the Security Council.
Guterres’s second five-year term as the Chief of the world body will begin on January 1, 2022.
I am deeply honoured and grateful for the trust placed in me to serve as the Secretary-General of the United Nations for a second term.
Serving the @UN is an immense privilege and a most noble duty.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) June 18, 2021
Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal, who headed the United Nations refugee agency for 10 years, was victorious in 2016 from a field of 13 official candidates, including seven women.
He took office the same year as former President Donald J. Trump, who was known for his disdain of the United Nations and the multilateral diplomacy it embodies. (ANI)
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