Jean Ping, the current 59th General Assembly president, introduced Eliasson, saying "I am ready to take advantage of this period of transition, in a spirit of cooperation and openness, to assist you in making an excellent start." Eliasson comes to the General Assembly with a background in diplomacy and human rights. He represented Sweden at the United Nations from 1988 to 1992, and represented the U.N. secretary-general as a special envoy in Iraq and Iran. Eliasson also served as an undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs for the United Nations. "Our main task now is to accept, and live up to, the triple challenges of development, security, and human rights. The three are intertwined and affect and reinforce each other," he said.--SPA1109 Local Time 0809 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/269728