Distinguished Chair, fellow Governors, Excellencies, delegates, ladies and gentlemen.

This is a particularly important Governing Council. 
We are here to approve a record Eighth Replenishment Consultation.  We are here to elect a new President – which we did yesterday. And as many speakers before me have said, we are here at a critical time for the world’s poor people.

The United Kingdom would like to join others in paying tribute to President Lennart Båge for his leadership. President, you have taken this organisation on an amazing journey since the Independent External Evaluation. The confidence demonstrated in this latest Eighth Replenishment reflects the huge progress made. You have created a solid platform upon which to build, making IFAD ever more effective for better, more sustainable results.

We want to thank you, President, for your dedication over the last eight years. For your focus on quality. For your commitment to reform. And for your support of innovation and partnership: within IFAD and across the United Nations system.

President Båge, Lennart, we look forward to continuing the journey you embarked upon. We wish you and your family well for the future.  You will be remembered here.
We also thank you and your team for supporting the efforts of the membership to enhance the openness of the process to elect your successor.  The membership meeting last month with all candidates was a landmark. The way in which the membership came together sets a great example across the international system.  And as Convenor of List A, we would particularly like to thank the Convenors of Lists B and C – Nigeria and Pakistan – for helping to make this happen.

In this achievement we would like also to pay tribute to the huge contribution made by our dear and sadly missed colleague Theo van Banning of the Netherlands delegation in Rome.  Theo believed firmly in having a fair and open process that would help us find the best person for the job – and worked tirelessly to convince us all. It is our profound hope that here in IFAD we can build on this vision in four years time – and in the meantime perhaps consider it as a model for other organisations.

We would also like here to acknowledge the extremely constructive way in which all the presidential candidates participated in this process.

And to Kanayo Nwanze, we heartily congratulate you.  We will support you in consolidating and building on reform, leading the organisation as it grows and delivers its unique mandate: empowering the rural poor, increasing incomes and building food security.

Thank you.