Pandemic Created Opportunity for Global ReSet, Says Secretary-General in Closing Remarks to High-Level Dialogue, Stressing ‘We Must Seize It’

Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ closing remarks at the high‑level interactive dialogue with heads of regional and other organizations, today:

Thank you for your reflections.  Our fruitful discussion today demonstrates our resolve to enhance our partnership.  It is undeniable that the longer‑term effects of the pandemic, most notably its socioeconomic fallout, will shape our work for years to come.

Entire regions that were making progress on eradicating poverty, narrowing inequality and building resilience have been set back by years.  The world is further off track in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

In a globalized world, we are only as strong as the most vulnerable of us.  We all recognize that any COVID‑19 vaccine must be a global public good, and I count on your strong support for the COVAX Facility [COVID‑19 Vaccine Global Access].

I am heartened by your strong support for a global ceasefire and count on the continued efforts of your organizations to advance it on the ground despite the obstacles we know well:  deep mistrust, spoilers and geopolitical tensions.  With today’s discussions, we are beginning conversations on how to usher in an improved model for global governance based on full, inclusive and equal participation in global institutions.  The developing world must have a far stronger voice in global decision‑making.

Earlier this year, I called for the response to the pandemic to be based on a New Social Contract and New Global Deal to ensure that power, wealth and opportunities are shared more broadly and fairly both at the national and international levels.  In order to do so, international cooperation must adapt.

As I mentioned this morning, we need a new, reinvigorated multilateralism:  a networked multilateralism, in which the United Nations, regional organizations, international financial institutions and others work together more closely; and an inclusive multilateralism, fully representative of all components of our societies – in particular women – and drawing on civil society, cities and local governments, businesses and young people.

This will be at the heart of our ongoing reflection on how to advance our common agenda, and I view today’s conversations as making a valuable contribution to what a more effective multilateralism could look like to improve global governance. The pandemic has created an opportunity for a global reset.  We must seize it.  Thank you.

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