Questions continue to surround what Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman's role would look like if he is elected President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Those who follow foreign affairs are informally discussing whether Dr Khalilur would step down from his current responsibilities as Bangladesh's Foreign Minister to serve full-time at the UN, or attempt to carry out both roles simultaneously. No official clarification has yet been provided on the matter.

There have been instances in the past where foreign ministers simultaneously served as President of the United Nations General Assembly while retaining their ministerial portfolios. For example, Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives concurrently served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs while serving as President of the 76th session of the UNGA in 2021. However, it remains unclear whether Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur would follow a similar arrangement if elected President of the 81st Session of the UNGA.

Humayun Rasheed Choudhury of Bangladesh, who was elected President of the 41st session of the General Assembly, had been serving as his country's Foreign Minister since 3 July 1985. Choudhury headed Bangladesh's delegation to the 39th session of the General Assembly and, as one of the session's vice presidents, presided over a number of plenary meetings.

From July 1984 until his appointment as Foreign Minister, Choudhury, a career diplomat, served as Adviser for Foreign Affairs to the President of Bangladesh. In May 1986, he was elected a member of the Bangladesh Parliament.

The election of the President of the United Nations General Assembly for the eighty first session will be held on June 2 at 10am in the General Assembly Hall, UNHQs, in line with Rule 30 of the Rules of Procedure.

In accordance with the established regional rotation, the President of the eighty first session of the General Assembly will be elected from the Asia Pacific Group. Following the withdrawal of the Palestinian candidature, Bangladesh will now compete with Cyprus.

Attention is now focused on the June 2 election, where Bangladesh and Cyprus are competing for the influential post. Ambassador Andreas S. Kakouris, Cyprus' candidate for the UNGA Presidency, brings over four decades of diplomatic and administrative experience in multilateral and bilateral diplomacy, as well as at Headquarters.

The outcome remains uncertain, keeping diplomats and international observers closely watching the race. Amid the speculation, Dr Rahman recently pledged that, if elected, he would serve as a "full-time President" and work as "a President for everyone," underscoring his commitment to the role and the broader UN membership.

Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman vowed to serve as a 'full-time President' and President for everyone, if elected as the President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

"If elected, I will be everyone's President, full-time President," he said while joining the informal interactive dialogue as part of the election for the presidency of the 81st session of the UNGA.

Dr Khalilur said he will unfailingly uphold the UN Charter and will engage all member States and pay attention, especially to small delegations. "I am able, willing, and ready to serve as your President from day one," he said.

President of the 80th session of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock convened informal interactive dialogues with the candidates for the presidency of the 81st UN session on Wednesday that were broadcast live on UN WebTV.

The Foreign Minister said it will be one of his priorities to uphold the UN General Assembly's normative work on human rights, underscore the importance of efficient and unimpeded humanitarian access, and highlight the plights of refugees and migrant workers wherever they deserve their attention.

"I must recall in this context that Bangladesh has been providing shelter and humanitarian support to 1.3 million Rohingyas, forcibly displaced from Myanmar, in one of the largest such concentrations in the world," he said in his vision statement.

This experience has deepened our conviction that international solidarity, responsibility-sharing, and predictable resources are indispensable to an effective humanitarian system, he said.

If elected President of the General Assembly, the Foreign Minister said, he will dedicate himself to rebuilding trust, nurturing consensus, and opening space for good faith negotiations that will lead to outcomes for all that are owned by all.

"Working together, we can restore trust in and manage the much-needed transformation of the United Nations and prove, once again, that multilateralism is not only relevant, but indispensable to a future of peace, dignity, and prosperity for all," he said.

In its resolution 71/323 titled "Revitalisation of the work of the General Assembly", the Assembly called upon candidates for the position of President of the General Assembly to present their vision statements, conducted informal interactive dialogues with Member States, thus contributing to the transparency and inclusivity of the process.

Civil society organisations and individuals engaged in the informal interactive dialogues by submitting questions to the candidates.

Questions were received through the registration of participants who engaged either in person or through video messages.

Dr Khalilur is a candidate from the Asia-Pacific region with over 30 years of experience with the United Nations, both as a representative of Bangladesh to the General Assembly and as a senior official at the UN secretariat in New York and at UNCTAD in Geneva.

Over the years, he has actively participated in 16 UNGA sessions, engaging directly in its negotiations, high-level meetings and follow-up processes.

Throughout his career, Dr Khalilur has worked extensively on development issues facing the Global South, including those related to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

"I am convinced that our world now needs a more effective and responsive multilateralism. By working together, we can build a more robust multilateral system that commands the trust of Member States and delivers tangible benefits for all," the foreign minister said in his vision statement.

He said he believes that he has the combination of knowledge, experience and leadership capabilities to effectively lead the General Assembly to advance this overarching goal.

The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly will open at a historic crossroads, Khalilur Rahman said, adding that eight decades after the UN Charter was signed in San Francisco, their shared system of multilateral cooperation faces profound challenges.

"Yet this moment also presents unprecedented opportunities to renew its promise for 'we the peoples' in the 21st century," he said.