The Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda has hailed the President of the United Nations General Assembly Hon. Sam Kutesa for championing efforts to address the effects of climate change, raising the profile of women, boosting the role of regional organisations to deal with regional issues and promoting global mutual respect and understanding.
Dr Rugunda made the remarks during a dinner he hosted for Mr Kutesa at Serena Hotel in Kampala.
“We have been following with pride, the way you have been steering the UN General Assembly, and the issues you have been championing, and I would like to say that you have represented Uganda, Africa and humanity very well,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr Kutesa, who is also Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs assumed the Presidency of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in June 2014. Dr Rugunda said that the people, the Government and leadership of Uganda are proud of the work Mr Kutesa is leading and pledged continued support.
“You have championed regional and sub-regional organisations playing greater roles in international affairs and in the resolution of their regional problems and in having structured arrangements with the UN so that there is smoother collaboration. This is critical and is delivering good results,” Dr Rugunda said.
He said there had been situations in the past when regional issues were decided by the international community without proper involvement of the people, governments and leaderships of those regions.
“Fortunately in recent times, we have seen greater participation by regions and our Africa region is a good example that demonstrates that if you work with regional organisations, you get amazing results,” the Prime Minister said.
Citing the example of Somalia, Prime Minister Rugunda said that effective international cooperation with regional bodies such as IGADD—the Intergovernmental Authority on Development – has helped to build an “effective machinery to deal with, and reduce the danger of al- Shabab and make the country increasingly more governable.”
“Somalia is a classic case of international collaboration. We can now talk, not only on the weakening, but about the defeat of al-Shabab. Uganda and the region appreciate this kind of solidarity,” he said.
On climate change, Prime Minister Rugunda said: “We are very pleased with the way Ndugu Sam Kutesa has steered global discussions to address the effects of climate change so that we can stop the wanton destruction of what God the Almighty has given to humanity. We are very pleased with the reverberations from the United Nations Conference on climate change that took place in Lima, Peru late last year, and we congratulate you for that milestone.”
On his part, Mr Kutesa thanked Prime Minister Rugunda for hosting the dinner in his honour and for the support he is receiving from the Government of Uganda while doing his work at the UN in New York.
“As I have said before, I thank the Government of Uganda for nominating me, my continent Africa, for endorsing me, and the international community for electing me unanimously,” Mr Kutesa said.
He reiterated his commitment to steering the UN General Assembly to tackle climate change, empower women and production of a blueprint for the Post-2015 development agenda.
“The world faces existential challenges such as climate change, which if not tackled now, will lead to the destruction of the world for us and for the future generation,” Kutesa noted.