President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has hosted a special dinner in honor of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who is currently in the states to attend the 76th UNGA session.

The dinner was hosted at the PGA Residence in New York City. PGA Shahid received the president and First Lady Fazna Ahmed at John F Kennedy Airport on Sunday. He was accompanied by Thilmeeza Hussain, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Maldives to the United Nations and Special Envoy of the PGA, appointed in June shortly after Shahid’s election victory.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has departed to New York, United States on Saturday morning and is joined by First Lady Fazna Ahmed and a high-level delegation of government officials.

He will conclude his trip and return to Maldives on September 28.

The president will be delivering an address at the 76th session of the UNGA, to take place in New York on 21 September 2021.

During the trip, the president is scheduled to participate in several bilateral and multilateral sessions with state and government leaders during the trip, alongside addressing the UNGA session once again.

Maldives marks a turning point in history during the 76th UNGA session, after the election of Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid as the president of the session.

Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid won the election for the UNGA presidency in June, with an overwhelming majority. Shahid, who ran against Afghanistan’s Zalmai Rassoul, got 143 votes from the body.

This mirrors that leaders of the globe have accepted Maldives as a significant player in the international arena, said the President’s Office.

The country has been vocally advocating for several global causes, most importantly as a climate champion fighting for the priorities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), especially since the commencement of Solih’s administration.

President Solih addressed the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York, during September 2019 for the first time. It was not only Solih’s first visit to the UNGA, but it was also the first time a Maldivian head of state was present in over seven years.