British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke on Sunday met Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman to understand the priorities for his UNGA Presidency.

They also discussed the UK's support to the Rohingya, ahead of the ninth anniversary of the crisis, and Bangladesh-UK cooperation on migration.

The presidency rotates among the UN’s five regional groups, and the 81st session falls to the Asia-Pacific group.

Dr Khalilur will serve a one-year term starting on September 8, a senior official told UNB.

His presidency will coincide with one of the most consequential processes on the UN calendar: the selection of Secretary-General António Guterres’s successor, whose term ends on December 31, 2026

The Foreign Minister was elected President of the UN General Assembly’s 81st session after defeating Andreas Kakouris of Cyprus in a closely contested vote, positioning himself to steer the world body through a pivotal year marked by intensifying global crises, UN reform efforts and major leadership transitions. has been used as a benchmark of society’s progress.

In a secret-ballot election, Khalilur Rahman secured 99 votes to Kakouris’s 91.

A total of 190 ballots were cast, with no invalid votes or abstentions.