A senior Qatari diplomat who has served as his country’s Permanent Representative to the UN for more than a decade was Wednesday, June 23, chosen by the world body’s 192 Member States to be the next President of the General Assembly, AFP reported.

Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, 57, who was elected this afternoon by acclamation, will succeed Joseph Deiss of Switzerland when he takes over the presidency in mid-September as the 66th session of the General Assembly begins. Accepting the post with great honor, Al-Nasser said he is becoming President at a time when the world is facing enormous political, social, economic and environmental challenges.

“Not a month goes by that we do not hear about a natural or a man -made disaster and the subsequent food, security, health and education crises that follow inevitably. At the same time, there are still people who are living under occupation and oppression, who are yearning for freedom and dignity,” he added.

The President-elect has proposed that the role of mediation in the settlement of disputes by peaceful means serve as the theme for the high-level debate slated to be held at the opening of the Assembly’s next session.