Prince of Monaco meets UN general assembly president

Prince Albert II of Monaco has met at the Royal Palace with HE the President of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly Nasser bin Abdulaziz al-Naser. Talks during the meeting tackled a number of issues, especially the current state of the world economy in light of the high-level meeting, which the UN General Assembly will hold at its headquarters on 17 and 18 May to discuss the challenges facing the world in the wake of the global economic crisis. The two sides also reviewed the preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), due to be held in Brazil next June. During his stay in Monaco, HE al-Naser participated in the opening of the 10th Annual International Forum of the Convention of Independent Financial Advisors (CIFA). Addressing the forum, HE al-Naser highlighted the importance of "Global Governance" which has been at the heart of the UN discussions. Al-Nasser noted that he had made the Global Governance part of his mission as President of the General Assembly, to work towards improving global governance and finding innovative financing modalities. HE the President of the UN General Assembly also mentioned the global financial and economic crisis and the High-Level Thematic Debate on the State of the World Economy, on 17 and 18 May, which will discuss the international efforts to obtain a sustained, inclusive, and equitable recovery of the world economy, and to achieve sustainable development, considering the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. Al-Naser noted that the major lesson from the global financial and economic crisis is that the existing structures of global economic governance have not adequately evolved to reflect the economic and geopolitical realities of today’s world. Most of the current institutions of global governance need modernization, in order to reflect the realities of the 21st Century. He underlined the importance to remember that the United Nations remains the only truly universal and inclusive multilateral forum for all. He said that the UN’s legitimacy confers un-matched value and credibility to its discussions, negotiated agreements and operational activities. Strengthening the role and effectiveness of the United Nations, and its General Assembly, in global economic governance would be an important contribution towards strengthening coordination, cooperation, coherence and effective policy-making as far as international macro-economic issues are concerned, HE al-Naser said.