United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the closing meeting of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 16, 2019. The 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly was concluded on Monday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly was concluded on Monday.
At the closing plenary meeting of the session, the outgoing UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces handed over the gavel to the President-Elect of the 74th session Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, symbolizing the handover of power.
"My sincere hope for the 74th session is that we will not only hear robust defenses of multilateralism, but see delivered tangible benefits to people's lives," said Espinosa.
In her final speech as president of the UN General Assembly, Espinosa said that she hopes to see "concrete actions to make this organization more effective, transparent, inclusive, accountable, and relevant to all people everywhere."
"Today, there is almost no problem that does not require global cooperation," she added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated on the completion of the session.
In his remarks, the UN chief said many of the issues debated, raised and accomplished during the 73rd session are testament to what can be achieved through international cooperation and competent leadership.
The adoption by the General Assembly of two global compacts on migration and refugees are remarkable examples, he said, adding that the United Nations continued in the past year to advance its comprehensive reforms at an unprecedented pace and scale.
Espinosa was the fourth woman and the first from Latin America and the Caribbean to serve as the UN General Assembly president. Guterres said that her successful term will "pave the way for increasing the participation of women in the political sphere around the world, and for accelerating progress towards gender equality within and beyond the United Nations."
The 74th session of the UN General Assembly will open on Tuesday.
