No:156/20, Information of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan
As it is known, the initiative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to convene a special session of the UN General Assembly in the format of a video conference on combating the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was supported by a much larger number of states than required by the UN General Assembly Rules of Procedure.
In the circular note sent to all Member States on 30 June 2020, the UN Secretary-General has stated that the initiative is supported by a majority of UN Member States and in accordance with the relevant provisions of the General Assembly Rules of Procedure the 31st Special Session of the General Assembly would be convened on 10 July 2020.
We would like to note that currently there is no agreed format and modalities for holding official meetings of the General Assembly in a virtual format, and as in previous special sessions, the modalities of the current session will be agreed among the member states.
At the beginning of the Special Session, it is planned to consider procedural issues, and at a later stage, to hold a segment of general discussions, where speeches will be heard by national delegations.
The head of the Nigerian delegation, representing the chairman of the 74th session of the General Assembly, will act as interim chairman of the Special Session.
We believe that the Special Session, which will start on July the 10th, will contribute to increasing the solidarity of world states in the fight against the pandemic, strengthening international cooperation and finding an international response to this global threat.
Once again we express our gratitude to each country that supported the initiative of Azerbaijan and wish success to the Special Session in its work.