Turkey’s Bozkır congratulated on UN General Assembly helm
ANKARA
The European Union on June 18 congratulated Volkan Bozkır on his election as the 75th president of the U.N. General Assembly.
The EU foreign policy chief issued a statement to greet the election of the Turkish diplomat and the five new non-permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
“With these elections comes responsibility. The European Union looks forward to working with all to address global challenges in these uncertain times and to support international peace and security,” Josep Borrell wrote.
Bozkır is the first Turkish national to head the General Assembly. He will take office in September and hold the post for one year.
He is currently a ruling AKP lawmaker from Istanbul and the head of parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.
Bozkır on June 18 credited international “trust and belief” in Turkey for his election.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Bozkır said: “My election to the presidency means the recognition of Turkey’s policies by all the countries of the world.”
Winning 178 votes in such a ballot was unprecedented for Turkey, Bozkır said.
“There was a great deal of support all over the world,” he added. “All of this is due to the trust in our country, the belief that we can do this job well,” Bozkır said.
Bozkır an expert on EU affairs
A graduate of the Faculty of Law at Ankara University, Ambassador Volkan Bozkır has served in several posts at the Foreign Ministry, having an expertise in relations with the European Union. He was the vice-consul of the Turkish Consulate-General in Stuttgart, first secretary of the embassy in Baghdad, undersecretary of the Permanent Representation to the OECD, consul-general in New York, and an ambassador in Bucharest. He served at Turkey’s EU Permanent Representative in Brussels.
He also acted as a foreign policy advisor to the prime minister, deputy secretary-general for EU Affairs Ministry, deputy undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry responsible for EU affairs and secretary-general for EU Affairs Ministry.
He has been a member of parliament as an Istanbul deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) since 2011. He was appointed as EU affairs minister and chief negotiator during the 62nd government formed by then Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and served two terms.
Bozkır also has been serving as chair of the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Parliament since 2017.
He has been rewarded the Order of the Star of Romania and Order of the Merit of the Italian Republic at the “Knight” rank.
Pakistan congratulates Bozkır
Meanwhile, Pakistan and Venezuela on June 18 congratulated Bozkır as well for his election.
"We warmly congratulate Ambassador Volkan Bozkır of Turkey on his election as the President of the 75th Session of United Nations General Assembly," said Aisha Farooqui, spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry.
She also congratulated Ireland, Norway and Mexico on their election as non-permanent members to the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term commencing from Jan. 1, 2021.