CHAIRMAN: We now proceed with the other items on our Agenda. The Members of the Council will observe that Items 3, 4, 5 and 6 relate to elections. According to General Rule XII.9 (a) a secret ballot is not required when the number of candidates corresponds to the number of vacancies. I would therefore like to suggest for your consideration that we proceed with the election for those positions where there is no need for a ballot. These are Chairman of the Programme Committee, Chairman of the Finance Committee,' and five Members of the CFA. If it meets with your approval I would suggest that we proceed first with the election of the Chairman of the Programme Committee. We have a single nomination, Mr. Milan Trkulja from Yugoslavia who has also been chairing the Programme Committee earlier. I take it that it is the wish of the Council to declare Mr. Trkulja unanimously elected as Chairman of the Programme Committee.
Elected by acclamation
Elu par acclamation
Elegido por aclamación
M. TRKULJA (Yugoslavia) : I could not but express my deep gratitude to the Council for renewing their confidence in me. For me personally it is indeed a very great honour and privilege. I wish to pledge to you, Mr. Chairman, and the Council that I will spare no effort to create an informal, friendly and constructive atmosphere in the Committee, an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect, for I believe that such an atmosphere is an essential prerequisite for the success of our common endeavour.
I want also to pledge to do my best to continue the constructive and harmonious relationship with the Director-General and his very able team, for again I firmly believe that mutual confidence and respect between the Committee and the Director-General is also essential for our common cause.
Finally, I would like to address you, Mr. Chairman, to congratulate you on your unanimous election to the very important post of Independent Chairman of the Council and to pledge to you my full loyalty, I will do whatever I can to cooperate closely with you and follow your advice.
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B. SHAIB (Nigeria): I just want to say a few words about the good decision we have just made to elect Professor Trkulja as Chairman of the Programme Committee, I have worked with Professor Trkulja as a Member of the Programme Committee and later on as Chairman of the Programme Committee and I as Independent Chairman of the Council,
Professor Trkulja has been extremely hardworking and he has a tremendous capacity to see quickly very complex issues and this has helped, especially when he came to explain to Council the decisions of the Programme Committee which, as you know, are most important. For this I would like to thank him very much because he has made the work of this Council seem very easy, but. in fact he has put in hours and hours of work in reading all the documents and bringing up what his Committee has done. Therefore the Council is very fortunate that he has agreed to serve again, I congratulate him and wish him a good term of office in his appointment.
CHAIRMAN: We are grateful to Professor Trkulja for accepting this position.
CHAIRMAN: Shall we now proceed with the election of Chairman of the Finance Committee, a very important Committee of the Council. You will have seen from document CL 81/LIM/2 that we have a single nomination, Mr. D.H.J. Abeyagoonasekera from Sri Lanka. I take it this has the approval of the Council, the election of Mr. Abeyagoonasekera as Chairman of the Finance Committee.
Elected by acclamation
Elu par acclamation
Elegido por aclamación
D.H.J. ABEYAGOONASEKERA (Sri Lanka): May I congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, on your appointment to the prestigious post of Independent Chairman of the Council. As you know, Sri Lanka was a Member of the Council for the last six years and we have had the good fortune to meet you on several occasions in regional conferences as well as in the conferences held in Rome.
I consider the offering of this prestigious post of Chairman of the Finance Committee, which has been so generously offered to Sri Lanka, as a great honour to my country as well as to myself.
I have served on the Finance Committee for the last two years. It has been a most rewarding experience, and I have no hesitation in saying that all the members of the Finance Committee gave me their fullest cooperation as a member of the Committee. I have no doubt that in the very responsible task of Chairman, I will continue to receive the same degree of cooperation and assistance from the members who will be elected to the Finance Committee, and of course from you, Mr. Chairman, as well as the Director-General, to carry out my duties honourably, responsibly and with the fullest of confidence.
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