The 68^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly formally convened on Tuesday 17^th of September 2013. The General Debate will open on Tuesday 24^th September. The Foreign Minister and Attorney General of Belize, Hon. Wilfred Elrington will deliver Belize’s national address to the general debate on 30^th September, 2013 at 11am. The theme of the 68^th Session is “The Post 2015 Development Agenda:  Setting the Stage.”  In this address, Belize’s Foreign Minister will highlight Belize’s priorities within the framework of the global goals expected in the 2015 Development Agenda. He will reaffirm Belize’s commitment to the process of developing an international agenda, while at the same time recognizing the need for developing countries like Belize to perform the delicate balance between addressing national priorities while meeting international obligations.

Minister Elrington will lead a delegation from Belize comprising of H.E Alexis Rosado, CEO in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Nestor Mendez, Ambassador of Belize to the United States, Senior Ambassador, H.E. Fred Martinez, Ambassador of Belize to Guatemala and the Director of International Affairs, Mr. Alfonso Gahona.

While in New York, the Foreign Minister and his delegation will attend High Level Meetings on issues  such as development goals for persons with disabilities, follow up efforts towards achieving millennium development goals, international migration, as well as bi-lateral meetings as a part of CARICOM, CELAC, the Commonwealth and G77.

The sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to commence on 17 September 2013.  This year’s session will be presided over by H.E. Mr. John W. Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda who will serve as the sixty-eighth president of the General Assembly and only the third representative from the Caribbean Community to hold this office.

The incoming president has selected the “Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Stage” as the overarching theme for the Leader’s Week which will be kicked off on 23 September with a High-level Event on Disabilities and Development.

Honourable Wilfred P. Elrington, Belize’s Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs will lead Belize’s Delegation which will include His Excellency, Ambassador Alexis Rosado, Chief Executive Officer as well as other senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Her Excellency, Ambassador Lois Young together with the members of the diplomatic staff of the Permanent Mission of Belize to the United Nations.

During the Leader’s Week, Minister Elrington will participate in the Special Event on the Millennium Development Goals, the launch of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the High-level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament, in addition to the regularly scheduled General Debate.  He will also have occasion to meet with his counterparts of the Commonwealth during the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministerial Meeting, the Caribbean Community during the Special Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations, and the Foreign Ministers of the Central American Integration System.  Minister Elrington is also expected to hold ministerial level bilateral meetings.

Minister Elrington is scheduled to deliver Belize’s national statement to the General Assembly on 30 September in the early afternoon.  A live video stream will be available at www.un.org/webcast.