21 January 2021 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) Having already congratulated you on assuming the Presidency, and assured you of my delegation’s support, when I took the floor at our meeting on Tuesday morning, let me begin by thanking everyone who has been involved in putting the arrangements in place to allow us to get this 2021 session of the Conference on Disarmament underway. The limitations of this virtual format are clear, and we eagerly look forward to being to resume in-person meetings as soon as the situation allows; but it is very important that we have been able to begin our work on schedule, even in the current exceptionally trying circumstances.