Some Ghanaian Officials welcomed the current UN President Madam María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, the President of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday in Accra for a four-day official visit. Ghana was the next country she is visiting after Nigeria where she “met President Muhammadu Buhari, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Women and Social Development to discuss strengthening bilateral ties,” pulse.ng reported.
Accompanied by Mr Kwabena Osei-Danquah, Chef de Cabinet to the President, the top UN official was received by a government delegation led by the Minister of Planning, George Gyan-Baffour and the UN Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Sylvia Lopez-Ekra.
Ms Garcés is expected tohold bilateral talks with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on a wide range of issues extending across politics, gender inequality, climate change, peace and security among others in line with Ghana’s implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A high-level Ministerial Committee meeting on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other engagements with representatives of civil society and UN officials working in the country is also expected to take place in the course of her visit,
“Her visit will highlight Ghana’s leadership role and support for the implementation of the 2030 agenda and emphasis the importance of strengthening the multilateral system as the best option for responding to global crisis and challenges,” a statement by the UN Information Centre, Accra, said.
The President of the UN General Assembly “will address the role of parliament in building political will for the implementation of global commitments crucial for effective responses to climate change maintenance of peace and security, the changing world of work, strengthening of social protection systems, reducing inequalities, among others, to achieve the SDGs”- the UN Information Centre, Accra
The United Nations General Assembly current theme is, ‘Making the UN relevant to all; global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies,’ a key approach for the presidency of Ms Espinosa Garcés is to ensure that the UN is inclusive and relevant to all.
Working with this theme in mind Ms Garcés has focused on areas where she has for more than 20 years worked. These include Decent Work, Persons with Disability, Gender Equality, Environmental Action, Climate Change, Biodiversity, Multilateral Cooperation, Migration and Refugees, Revitalization of the UN and Youth, Peace and Security. Madam Espinosa would also pay a courtesy call on the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II in Manhyia, Kumasi and visit some historical sites in the country including the Kumasi Cultural Centre and the Cape Coast Castle.
A Brief Biography of Her Excellency Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés
Her Excellency Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, president of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly is the fourth woman to hold this position in the history of the world body, and the first since 2006.
For more than 20 years, President Espinosa Garcés has worked in the areas of international negotiations, peace-building, security, defense, disarmament, human rights, indigenous peoples, gender equality, sustainable development, environment, biodiversity, climate change and multilateral cooperation. She has served her native Ecuador as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defence, and Coordinating Minister of Natural and Cultural Heritage. She also served as Special Adviser to the President of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of Ecuador in 2008. That same year, she became the first woman to serve as Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations in New York.
Before beginning her political and diplomatic career, President Espinosa Garcés was Associate Professor and Researcher at the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales Sede Ecuador. She has written over 30 academic articles about the Amazon region, culture, heritage, sustainable development, climate change, intellectual property, foreign policy, regional integration, defense and security. President Espinosa Garcés holds a master’s degree in social sciences and Amazonian studies and a postgraduate diploma in anthropology and political science from the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales Sede Ecuador, as well as a bachelor’s degree in applied linguistics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Currently, she pursued her PhD in environmental geography at Rutgers University.
Author: Hope Ewudor || Chrife.com.gh
