UN General Assembly
2020

Your Excellency, President of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Your Excellency, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Distinguished Heads of State and Government, Esteemed Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, Rarely have the United Nations and multilateralism been tested as they are being tested during this year of the UN’s 75th anniversary, the year where the world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Rarely, has there been a more pressing time for creative thinking and innovation to respond to modern challenges. The painful lessons learned since the outbreak of the pandemic underscores the urgent need for continued collective approaches. To be effective, our joint efforts need to be coordinated and delivered through a revitalised and more inclusive multilateral system, comprising of the voices of all stakeholders, including the youth, civil society and the private sector to ensure a global all-of-society approach. I say revitalised because the existing set-up has, despite the lessons of past outbreaks of viruses, failed to respond adequately to COVID-19 with devastating consequences.