India’s presidency at the G20 to help lead to transformative change: UN Secretary Antonio Guterres

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed optimism that India’s presidency at the G20 will help lead to the kind of transformative change which the world needs today. He also stressed the need for structural reforms in Security Council.

“My hope is that India’s presidency at the G20 will help lead to the kind of transformative change our world so desperately needs in line with the repeated commitment of India to act on the behalf of Global South and its determination to pursue the development agenda,” he said while addressing a press conference on the eve of leadership summit scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday here.

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‘Fracturing world’

Welcoming the focus on ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, he said, “This phrase inspired by the Maha Upanishad finds profound resonance in today’s world: not just as a timeless ideal - but as an indictment of our times.” He observed that if the world is indeed one global family, it is now resembling a rather dysfunctional one. “Divisions are growing, tensions are flaring up, and trust is eroding, which together raise the spectre of fragmentation, and ultimately, confrontation. This fracturing would be deeply concerning in the best of times, but in our times, it spells catastrophe,” he added.

Stating that the world is in a difficult moment of transition, Guterres, who is in the country for the G20 Leaders’ Summit, called upon leaders of the prestigious economic grouping to show leadership in two key areas - climate and saving Sustainable Development Goals.

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Guterres said the future is multipolar, but multilateral institutions reflect a bygone age. “The global financial architecture is outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair. It requires deep, structural reform. And the same can be said of the United Nations Security Council,” he said.

The UN chief asserted that the world needs effective international institutions which are rooted in 21st-century realities and based on the UN Charter and international law. “That is why I have been advocating for bold steps to make those global institutions truly universal and representative of today’s realities, and more responsive to the needs of developing economies,” he said.

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