By RICARDO WELLS

TISHKA Francis has become the first Bahamian to be elected as vice chair of the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) Second Committee during its sixty-ninth annual session.

Ms Francis, who is the First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of The Bahamas to the United Nations, will play a key role in shaping the agenda.

The Second Committee is a subsidiary body of the UNGA that deals with economic, financial and environmental matters and its prime functions are to speak on key and emerging international sustainable development issues and to provide the foundation for the

body’s operational activities in related areas.

During this session, the Second Committee will debate issues relating to economic growth and development, including macro-economic policy questions, financing for development, sustainable development, human settlements, poverty eradication, globalisation and interdependence, operational activities for development and information and communication technologies for development.

Ms Francis will help to oversee the implementation of the outcome of the Samoa Pathway, a subsidiary of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, that took place in Samoa in September.

This session will also certify plans for the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and the third Financing for Development Conference scheduled for March and July 2015 respectively.