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IGN Co-Chairs Hold Meetings in Beijing with Senior Chinese Officials

Date: 
Wednesday, 22 January 2020

BEIJING – 22 January 2020 – H.E. Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, has concluded a visit to Beijing at the invitation of the Chinese government. The meetings were held in her capacity as the Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on UN Security Council reform for the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly.  Ambassador Nusseibeh was joined by her Co-Chair, H.E. Joanna Wronecka, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Poland to the UN.

The Co-Chairs were received by H.E. Yang Jiechi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee; H.E. Wang Yi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister; and H.E. Ma Zhaoxu, Vice Foreign Minister.

Their discussions focused on China’s views on the UN system in general and the reform of the Security Council in particular, as well as possible ways of enhancing the efficiency of the Security Council’s work and strengthening multilateralism overall. 

“Today, the effectiveness of the UN specifically and of multilateralism more generally are being challenged. The UNSC is a principal pillar of international peace and security architecture, and the UN helps improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world.  We all agree that we need to make the UN ‘more fit for purpose’ and adaptive to current geopolitical realities and challenges,” Ambassador Nusseibeh said.

“Our visit to Beijing underscores the importance that China attaches to the issue of Security Council reform as well as to multilateralism and the maintenance of global peace and security. We had very productive exchanges about the reform process. We look forward to working with the UN’s diverse membership on these issues in the upcoming session,” she concluded.

Ambassador Nusseibeh also conveyed the warm regards of the UAE’s leadership in her meetings with senior officials, noting the growing relationship between the UAE and China across various fields, including political and security files, trade, cultural exchange, and the renewable energy sector.

UAE Ambassador to China Dr. Ali Al Dhaheri joined Ambassador Nusseibeh in the meetings and praised China’s upcoming participation at Expo 2020 in Dubai this October. He said, “With more than 35 years of diplomatic relations between our two nations, China continues to be one of the most important strategic partners of the UAE. We will continue to build bridges of cooperation and seek practical ways to enhance our bilateral ties.”

The process of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Reform of the Security Council was established in 2008 with a view to providing a platform for UN Member States to carry out discussions on the reform of the Security Council. Formal discussions for the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly will begin in February 2020.