Maldives’ Foreign Minister elected as UNGA President

Why in News ?

Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid, was elected as new President of UN General Assembly (UNGA).

About:

Abdulla Shahid won against Afghanistan’s former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul with three-fourth majority. He fetched 143 votes while Rassoul got 48 votes out of 191 votes polled. Maldives will occupy office of President of UNGA for the first time.

Election to UNGA President:

Election to UNGA presidential post is held annually. It is rotated amongst various regional groupings. 76th UNGA session for 2021-22 was the turn of Asia-Pacific group.