Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa took part in the opening of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, held under the theme 'Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda'.

The session was headed by president Sam Kahamba Kutesa, in the presence of world leaders and heads of delegations, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Addressing the session, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the importance of solidarity in these times and working to achieve international peace and security.

He focused on the Millennium Development Goals, stressing the need to attain them and achieve prosperity for all the peoples of the world.

Ban Ki-moon reiterated the need to intensify international efforts to eradicate poverty and noted that the UN still has a long way to go to achieve its new goals and a sustainable development plan beyond 2015.

King Abdullah of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt and US President Barack Obama were among the leaders who addressed the session.

Among the main issues on the agenda are fight against terrorism and its funding sources, climate change, peace process in the Middle East, global economic issues, human rights and women's empowerment, in addition to peaceful settlement of international disputes and post-2015 development agenda of the Millennium Development Goals.

Shaikh Khalid later attended a luncheon hosted by the Secretary-General, in honour of the participating leaders and delegations.

On the sidelines of the session, Shaikh Khalid met his Iraqi counterpart Dr Ibrahim Al Jaafari. He extended an invitation to Dr Al Jaafari to visit Bahrain to further promote historical relations.

The Foreign Minister expressed hope that the new Iraqi government will succeed in its work towards achieving further progress and prosperity and pledged Bahrain's support for the country to establish security and stability by confronting terrorist groups and eliminating them.

The ministers also discussed issues of mutual interest and emphasised the importance of co-ordinating positions at regional and international forums.

Shaikh Khalid also held talks with his Danish counterpart Martin Adgaard, Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Co-operation and African Integration Mohammed Bazum and his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh. - TradeArabia News Service