United Nations, Oct 24 (AP) The president of the United Nations General Assembly has expressed concern that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio rejected a meeting with him to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of the 193-member world organization.

Volker Bozkir said in a statement that the United Nations "has been proud to call the city its home since the middle of the last century" and is "happy to generate billions of dollars in economic benefits and tens of thousands of jobs in New York City." But the Turkish politician said he was disappointed at the mayor's refusal to meet him.

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Bozkir said: "This lack of interaction concerns me." His spokesman, Brenden Varma, told reporters that Bozkir reached out about two weeks ago to ask for an appointment with the mayor. But the assembly president received a response a few days ago declining the request, he said.

Penny Abeywardena, New York City's commissioner for international affairs, responded to the assembly president's statement without mentioning the mayor's decision not to meet Bozkir.

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She pointed to de Blasio's "excellent relationship" with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and "deeply collaborative relationship with Mr. Bozkir's predecessors," and said the city looks forward "to continuing our partnership with the United Nations." (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)