6 March 2012: The President of the UN General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, held a number of meetings in Brussels, Belgium, aimed at enhancing cooperation between the regional and sub-regional arrangements hosted in Belgium and the UN General Assembly, with particular focus on sustainable development and international peace and security.

Addressing the Federal Belgium Parliament, he highlighted that four main pillars guide the work of the General Assembly this session, the fourth one focusing on sustainable development and global prosperity. He said that, in the context of preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and the post-2015 development agenda, he will hold informal meetings and retreats to help build consensus and bolster the preparations. These informal meetings will include a thematic debate on the “Road to Rio and beyond” on 4 April 2012, to build on the conclusion of the retreat on the same topic convened in December 2011. [UN News Release][President’s Remarks][Sustainable Development Policy & Practice post regarding retreat]