Author:
Tanjug
At the meeting of that body a total of 190 out of 193 UN member countries voted, with 185 valid votes and one abstained vote.
Jeremic’s opponent was Lithuanian Ambassador to the UN Dalius Cekuolis. The voting at the plenary session was secret.
The Lithuanian Ambassador to the UN was supported by 85 countries.
To be appointed, the candidate had to win a simple majority support of those present.
The chairmanship of the UN General Assembly in this term will run from September 2012 through September 2013.
Jeremic said after the vote that his election as Chairman of the UN General Assembly is a great recognition to the Serbian people and promised to work on the maintenance of international peace and security.
As a theme of the debate at the opening of the 67th session he proposed a "convergence of positions and settlement of international disputes by peaceful means" and expressed confidence that he can contribute to the implementation of agreed proposals, especially those related to conflict prevention.
Jeremic said that Serbia is a small and developing country that does not belong to any military or political alliance, which makes the honour even greater.
Jeremic said that he will assume duty after having the honour of serving as Serbia’s foreign minister for more than five years.
Serbia is democratic state that, apart from efforts to preserve its own sovereignty and territorial integrity and to achieve well-being of its people, has no other ambition than to contribute to the general interests of humanity, he underlined.
Therefore, we are firmly committed to maintaining international peace and security – the first declared goal of the UN. To work to achieve that goal – the noblest and the most important one – is worthy of deep respect, concluded Jeremic.