Government Action Crucial for Tackling Multiple Crises, But ‘We Need Everyone’, Private Sector, Civil Society to Work Together, Secretary-General Tells Summit

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the World Government Summit, in Dubai today:

I am pleased to extend my warm greetings to the World Government Summit as you mark your tenth anniversary. 

Over the past decade, you have established a global platform to help shape future Governments.  You have brought together thinkers and decision makers from around the world to explore solutions to the challenges of today and tomorrow.

That mission is more vital than ever.  We are confronting a confluence of crises unlike any in our lifetimes.  Conflict is raging.  Poverty and hunger are rising.  Divisions are deepening and the climate emergency keeps worsening.

We have a duty to act.  We must forge a path towards greater cooperation, rooted in solidarity.  We must avoid short-term policymaking that delays taking on the big tests we face and ultimately makes those challenges even more intractable.

We must strengthen global governance and reinvigorate multilateralism for the twenty-first century.  And we must act at the speed and scale that our fast-moving times demand. 

This applies to every challenge we face, from tackling the climate catastrophe and advancing sustainable development to achieving peace and safeguarding human rights, including the rights of future generations.

In all of this and more, Government action is critical, but not enough.  We need everyone — across the private sector, civil society, and beyond — to work together for the common good.  This is our common agenda.

The United Nations will continue to make the most of our convening power as a platform for solutions, including at the Summit of the Future next year.  Let us raise our ambition and unite behind solutions that can shape a better future for all.  Thank you.  Shukran.