G20 foreign ministers discuss global governance reform at UN

Foreign ministers of the G20 countries gathered at the UN headquarters for the first time on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). The meeting centered around the theme "Building a just world and a sustainable planet."

The meeting, chaired by Brazil and open to all UN member states, focused on global governance reform and discussed global measures to tackle hunger and poverty, promote sustainable development and a just energy transition, among other issues.

In his opening remarks, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that G20 members can act in three specific areas: finance, climate, and strong, inclusive, legitimate global institutions and tools to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow.

He noted that the international community needs to reform the international financial architecture to make it fully representative of today's global economy, so it can provide strong support to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNGA President Philemon Yang said the G20 remains a critical platform for addressing global economic challenges, fostering international cooperation and driving sustainable development.

The G20 foreign ministers' meeting took place "at a critical moment" when the world is uniting around the urgent need to revitalize the multilateral architecture, ensuring it is fit for addressing today's challenging problems, said Yang. He called on the G20 to take decisive steps in advancing the outcomes of the Summit of the Future, particularly in reforming the international financial architecture to make it more equitable and effective for all nations.

G20 countries, representing approximately 60 percent of the global population and contributing around 85 percent of the world's GDP, bear the responsibility of leading the charge in realizing the ambitious goals set out in the Pact for the Future, said Yang.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country holds the G20 presidency for 2024, said the G20 cannot shirk their responsibilities in the face of the serious crises generated by climate change and demanded effective actions from the group in the fight against hunger and in reforming the management of major multilateral institutions.

Lula highlighted the priorities of Brazil's G20 presidency – social inclusion focusing on fighting hunger and inequality, climate change, which requires effective accountability not only from nations, but also from other sectors, and a reform in the global governance system, which is capable of repositioning the UN at the center of international decisions.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, which will assume the G20 presidency in December, said the UN must remain a centerpiece of multilateralism, and "it must be modernized to make it fit for purpose and more effective, more agile and more forward-looking."

"It needs to represent current geopolitical relations and the prevailing international realities," he said, adding that South Africa is committed to the reinvigoration of the multilateral system and the reform of the global governance institutions to make them more representative.

The meeting, attended by foreign ministers of G20 members with the participation of other UN member countries, adopted the Call of Action on Global Governance focusing on the reform of the United Nations, reform of the international financial architecture, and reform of the multilateral trade system.

(With input from Xinhua)