UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that the world requires greater cooperation, and the reform of global institutions.
Speaking at the BRICS summit, he said that ‘in a fracturing world with overwhelming crises, there is simply no alternative to co-operation.’
He said that a failure to cooperate among countries exacted a significant cost in resources, and the consequences fell heavily on the poorest countries.
He condemned the present arrangement of the world as reflecting ‘yesterday’s world’, and called for change.
‘This is particularly true of the Security Council of the UN and the Bretton Woods institutions. For multilateral institutions to remain truly universal, they must reform to reflect today’s power and economic realities’, he said.
Guterres added that the emerging multipolar world required strong institutions to make multilateralism function. ‘Multipolarity in itself is not enough to guarantee a peaceful or just global community. To be a factor of peace, equity and justice in international relations, multipolarity must be supported by strong and effective multilateral institutions. Look no further than the situation in Europe at the dawn of the last century. Europe was multipolar but it lacked strong multilateral mechanisms. The result was World War 1’.
He lauded South Africa’s president, saying: ‘The leadership President Ramaphosa has shown on the world stage is unmatched.’