Marking the 44th Annual Meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 (G77) and China, President Irfaan Ali urged global leaders to embrace multilateralism as the means to finding solutions to the health, environment and other challenges that face the world.
Present at the virtual meeting were President of the 75th Session United Nations General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir; Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres and numerous other Foreign Affairs Ministers.
President Ali said that the coronavirus pandemic has already begun to reverse and eliminate decades of developmental gains made but it is imperative that the G77 and China internalize the lessons learned and chart a more inclusive, balanced and sustainable development path.
“Our Group has acknowledged the vital importance of multilateralism in finding solutions to the multiple crises which have bedeviled humanity. The efficacy of this mechanism cannot be underemphasized at this time. The era in which we now find ourselves has revealed, in stark terms, the pivotal role of international cooperation in responding to extant global challenges. The rebuilding of our economies and the strengthening of our public health systems will depend, in large part, on our ability to work together,” he said.
Meanwhile, he urged the attendees to work to address climate change; the socio-economic factors that limit effective response to natural hazards; uphold the Paris Agreement; prioritise the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and work to mitigate global threats, especially their effects on developing countries.
Apart from health and the environment, President Ali also stressed the importance of democracy and urged that it become more intertwined in multilateral institutions.
“The work of the G77 and China spans the gamut of issues discussed across the various Committees of the General Assembly. However, we believe that a critical issue underpinning our ability to confront myriad challenges is that of the preservation of democracy. It is imperative that citizens’ right to participate in the political process is preserved and protected. Democracy is essential within states and in relations between states. Democracy therefore must become more embedded in multilateral institutions,” he said.
