Secretary-General Calls for Working Together to Develop Common Solutions ‘Grounded in Shared Values’, in Club De Madrid Annual Policy Dialogue Remarks

Following is the text of UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ video message to the Club de Madrid Annual Policy Dialogue, in Berlin today:

Excellencies, dear friends, let me begin by thanking the Club de Madrid for your focus on “Navigating a World in Converging Crises”.

We face challenges that are multiplying and feeding upon one another.  Divides are widening, inequalities are deepening.  A global cost-of-living crisis is raging.  Our planet is burning.  And people are hurting — with the most vulnerable people and countries suffering the most.

We have a duty to act.  But, as I told the United Nations General Assembly, our world is gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction.

We must unite to tackle the big challenges of our age.  Crises like the war in Ukraine and the multiplication of conflicts around the globe.  Crises like the climate emergency and biodiversity loss.  Crises like the dire financial situation of developing countries and the fate of the Sustainable Development Goals.  Cooperation is the only path forward.

I thank the Club de Madrid for focusing on dialogue and solutions.  I also thank you for your support for my report on Our Common Agenda that sets out proposals for a more inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism.

Let’s keep working together to develop common solutions to common problems — grounded in shared values and building a better future for all.  Thank you.