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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly will hold an interview with Kristalina Georgieva, a second candidate for the next UN secretary-general put forward by Bulgaria, next Monday, Peter Thomson, president of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, said here Thursday.
The General Assembly interview will start at 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Monday, Thomas said at a reception of the UN Correspondents' Association in honor of him at UN Headquarters in New York.
The new Bulgarian candidate will enjoy the same treatment in the interview as the other candidate vying to succeed the current UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, who is retiring after his maximum two five-year terms on Dec. 31.
During the interview, she is expected to share her vision on the world body with member states and answer questions from diplomats and civil society on she will manage the global organization if elected.
Georgieva, a Bulgarian diplomat who is the vice president of the European Commission and a former World Bank economist, entered into the race for the post of the world's top diplomat. The Bulgarian government on Wednesday nominated Georgieva for the post of the UN chief and withdrew support from its previous candidate Irina Bokova, who was nominated by Sofia in February for her candidacy.
Thomson said that it is up to Bokova to decide whether to stay in the race.
Bokova, the director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said on Wednesday that she would remain in the race.
The interview is part of the efforts by the 193-member General Assembly to make the selection process to replace Ban.
In practice, the 15-member Security Council and its five permanent members will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.
