Ambassador George Talbot, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), was yesterday elected to serve as Chair of the Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) of the General Assembly for the 67th session.
Talbot was elected by acclamation to the post and is the first representative of a Caricom Member State at the UN to hold the position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday.
It said that the Second Committee, which deals with a wide range of development matters, will have a full agenda of issues to consider. These include macro-economic policy questions, sustainable development issues, such asfollow-up to the Rio+20 conference, challenges associated with poverty eradication, globalisation, international migration and development, and the situation of countries in special circumstances, like Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States.
“Guyana’s priorities for the upcoming session will include a focus on food security and agriculture, poverty eradication, climate change related issues, and the developmental impact of inequalities both within and across countries as well as on greater effectiveness and efficiency in the conduct of the work of the Committee. During Guyana’s tenure, the Committee will also undertake the first quadrennial comprehensive policy review of the UN’s operational activities for development,” the ministry said.
The statement said that Talbot was nominated and endorsed for the post by Caricom and by the Group of the Latin American and Caribbean States (GRULAC). Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bangladesh were also elected to the Bureau of the Committee. Ambassador Talbot, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages from the University of Guyana and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, is a career diplomat with vast experience in multilateral affairs, the statement said.
It added that in a related development, the Ambassador of Suriname to the UN, Henry MacDonald, was also elected to chair the Third Committee, making this the first time that two CARICOM representatives will chair Main Committees of the General Assembly during the same session.
