I would also like to pay high tribute to Mr. Jean Ping, your predecessor, for his distinguished leadership.

I am confident that you will carry forward the able legacy left by your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping.

I also wish to congratulate your predecessor, who guided our work admirably during the fifty ninth session.

May I also extend our thanks to your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, for his successful presidency of the previous session of the Assembly.

I would also like to express our appreciation for the efforts made by your predecessor, Ambassador Baja, the Permanent Representative of the Philippines, in conducting the business of the Council last month.

At the same time, Sir, I would like to express our sincere recognition and gratitude for the efforts of your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, President at the fifty ninth session of the General Assembly.

Mr. Sumaida'ie (Iraq) (spoke in Arabic) I should like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month and to commend your predecessor, the Permanent Representative of Brazil, for his able stewardship last month.

May I also congratulate your predecessor, Ambassador Mya Than of Myanmar, who ably presided over the Conference during the last session of the year 2004, for the very invaluable efforts and resourcefulness that he invested in the work of the Conference.

I would like also to take this opportunity to express our satisfaction with the manner in which their predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, Foreign Minister of Gabon, steered the deliberations of the previous session of the General Assembly and the intensive consultations that were conducted throughout the past year in preparation for this meeting.

I have the honour to submit to you herewith the fourth report of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which includes responses to the comments questions of the Counter Terrorism Committee contained in the letter from your predecessor, A. Denisov, dated 2 February 2005 (see enclosure).

I am writing in response to the letter from your predecessor, Mr. Andrey I. Denisov, dated 19 January 2005 concerning the questions and comments made on the supplementary report submitted by the Government of Guatemala in accordance with paragraph 6 of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001).

I would also like to extend thanks and appreciation to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, for his valuable efforts in conducting the work of the Assembly's fifty ninth session, especially his efforts to reach a consensus on the final document of the world summit of 2005.