DHAKA, Sept 8, 2026 (BSS) - Newly sworn-in UN General Assembly President Dr Khalilur Rahman,Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, today pledged to prioritise dialogue, cooperation and meaningful UN

reform during his year-long presidency as multilateralism faces unprecedented challenges and a growing trust deficit.

"UN multilateralism as a whole is being tested in ways we have never seen before," he told a media briefing at the United Nations Headquarters in New York shortly before assuming the presidency of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Khalilur said his presidency would put a "high premium on cooperation and dialogue" in confronting global challenges and harnessing emerging opportunities.

Acknowledging that many international disputes cannot be resolved quickly, he said this should not deter member states from seeking areas of convergence.

"That should not retard us from seeking common grounds wherever we can, and that is something I will continuously try to do," he said.

Khalilur said his presidency would remain firmly anchored in the UN Charter and the mandates entrusted to the organisation by its member states.

He stressed that critical global issues could be better addressed if countries worked together and sought solutions through dialogue rather than other means.

The veteran diplomat also placed meaningful UN reform high on his agenda, saying reforms must help restore public confidence in the world body and prepare it to respond effectively to future challenges.

"We have a situation where trust is in deficit and the organisation must undertake deeper reform in order to make it fit for future, not only today, for tomorrow," he said.

Khalilur said the world had changed profoundly since the UN was founded in 1945 and the organisation must evolve accordingly.

"The world has moved on. The organisation must move on, and I'll help that process," he said, pledging continued support for UN Secretary-General Ant¢nio Guterres' reform efforts.

Khalilur said his presidency would also seek greater engagement with people beyond governments, pointing to the opening words of the UN Charter - "We the peoples of the United Nations."

He said the UN was larger than its member states and that voices from civil society, the media, academia, industry and innovation communities needed greater space within the organisation.

"In my view, we are still treating them as the other. So unlocking the UN will be something that I will try to pursue during my presidency," he said.

Khalilur had campaigned for the presidency under the theme "Restoring trust, managing

transformation," but said he was now adding another objective to that vision.

"We must make the United Nations fit for the future," he said. "This must be a place where countries can once again say and vote yes to UN with confidence and with enthusiasm."

Rohingya voices to remain heard

Responding to a question on how the UN could represent stateless populations, including the Rohingya, Khalilur said the Charter's reference to the "peoples of the United Nations" encompassed all people, irrespective of nationality or status.

Drawing on his previous role as Bangladesh's High Representative on Rohingya Issues, he recalled witnessing first-hand the plight of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas and their yearning to return to their homeland.

He referred to UN Secretary-General Guterres' visit to the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, where a huge gathering of refugees voiced their desire to return home.

"Everybody said, 'We want to go home'," Khalilur recalled.

Describing the Rohingyas as people driven from their "homes and hearth", he said Bangladesh had helped bring their voices to the United Nations.
"We added their voice. I will continue to do this as we proceed," he said.

Common ground during high-level week

Asked where common ground could be found among member states during the upcoming high-level week, Khalilur said bringing world leaders together for dialogue was itself critically important.

He expressed hope that heads of state and government would use their appearances at the General Assembly to point towards resolving disputes through dialogue and diplomacy while recommitting themselves to development, well-being and human rights.

As world leaders deliver their statements, Khalilur said, the presidency would examine their priorities and seek to identify elements that could form a common agenda.

The General Debate of the 81st UNGA is scheduled for September 22-28, when heads of state and government and other senior representatives from across the world will gather at UN Headquarters.

'President for all countries'

Asked what Bangladesh and the wider world could expect from his presidency, Khalilur underscored the impartiality of his new role.

"If elected, I'll be the president for every country," he recalled telling member states during his campaign.

"I will be a president for all countries," he reiterated, irrespective of whether they voted for him in the election.

On the selection of the next UN secretary-general, Khalilur said he would remain faithful to the Charter, under which the Security Council recommends a candidate and the General Assembly makes the appointment.

He said he would work closely with member states and the presidents of the Security Council to facilitate the process and ensure a seamless leadership transition.

The 80th session of the UNGA concluded at UN Headquarters Tuesday night, followed by Khalilur's formal swearing-in as president of its 81st session.

The transition returned Bangladesh to the UNGA presidency after four decades. Former foreign minister Humayun Rasheed Choudhury was the first Bangladeshi to hold the position, presiding over the 41st session in 1986-87.

Khalilur, who first came to the UN as a Bangladeshi delegate in 1985, described his return four decades later as General Assembly president as a sense of "d‚j… vu", while noting that the world had changed enormously in the intervening period.

He succeeds Germany's former foreign minister Annalena Baerbock and will lead the 193-member General Assembly for the next year.