UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7: The President of the United Nations General Assembly, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain, said on Friday she had proposed an informal meeting –– involving the world body, donors, recipient countries and others –– to discuss hurdles in attaining global development targets.

Saying she had been encouraged by the commitment shown by world leaders during last month’s debate in the General Assembly, Sheikha Haya said she had sent a letter to all 192 member states outlining the work programme for the assembly’s current session, seeking to capture the vision of world leaders to make progress towards implementing internationally agreed development goals.

“I was encouraged by the renewed commitment of world leaders to multilateralism as the most appropriate way to address the many global challenges of our time.

“To help translate this commitment into concrete action, I have proposed to member states to hold an informal debate during the main part of the 61st session,” the General Assembly chief said.