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Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly
22 September 2021
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Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
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Thank you for the opportunity to join you today.
I would like to commend the Government of Singapore for convening the 14th Global Governance Group (3G) Ministerial Meeting.
This is an important annual event to achieve meaningful cooperation in the global governance framework and processes.
In 2010, the then Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo stated, ¡°The G20 process should strengthen the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and other international organizations, not weaken them.¡±
That statement resonated then and it remains true today.
Over the years, the Global Governance Group has remained faithful to its founding philosophies:
–??????? Confer greater legitimacy to the G20 process;
–??????? Link the G20 and the United Nations; and
–??????? Ensure that the G20 listens to non-members.
The 3G¡¯s message is clear and compelling: states can be both small and significant, but they can contribute to effecting change. They can contribute to achieving meaningful coordination between the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and other intergovernmental processes.
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Excellencies,
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76 years after the founding of the United Nations and 18 months in a pandemic environment, the world is beset with macroeconomic fragilities, social inequalities, and extreme vulnerabilities.
Today, our overwhelming priorities are pushing for a sustainable and resilient recovery from the pandemic, achieving the SDGs, and addressing the threat of climate change.
These challenges demand concerted and coordinated global actions. Indeed, the urgency for global cooperation and solidarity has never been greater.
Greater partnerships between the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and coalitions such as the G20 are needed to build back better, stronger, greener, and bluer from the pandemic.
The G20 countries, the leading economies on the planet, have a large responsibility to support others, particularly those in special situations such as LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS.
I take this opportunity to commend the G20 for its efforts over the past year and a half to address the challenges posed by COVID-19 ¨C including its debt service suspension initiative, vaccine production and delivery, as well as environmental challenges.
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Excellencies,
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The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need to accelerate the digital transformation of our businesses and societies so that they will be more resilient to similar shocks in the future.
The pandemic has demonstrated the need to also maintain a free, open, transparent, non-discriminatory and rules-based multilateral trading system centred on the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which has underpinned global economic growth and development over the past few decades.
Going forward we need to galvanise collective efforts to address the gaps in the global pandemic preparedness and response and to strengthen health systems to enhance our resilience against current and future epidemics.
There is also a need for continued sharing of information and best practices, and supporting affordable and equitable access to therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines.
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Excellencies,
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Despite the challenges, there are many reasons to remain hopeful. It is abundantly clear that through cooperation, through solidarity, through multilateralism ¨C our future CAN be better.
This is why my Presidency is premised on the central theme of hope. This is why I am championing all efforts that have us talking to each other. Because it is only through dialogue we can understand and act, together.
I look forward to continuing this conversation throughout this session.
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I thank you.
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Greater partnerships between the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and coalitions such as the G20 are needed to build back better, stronger, greener, and bluer from the pandemic.