Hope India's G20 presidency brings much-needed transformative change: UN chief

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed hope that India's G20 presidency would help in bringing the “transformative change that the world desperately needs”.

At a press conference in the national capital, Guterres, who is here to attend the G20 summit, called for much-needed reforms in the international forum including the UN security council, saying the world is in a difficult moment of transition and its multilateral institutions reflect a “bygone age”.

He called for “bold steps” to make global institutions truly “universal and representative of today's realities”.

“It is a great pleasure to be back in India for this pivotal G20 summit. I welcome the focus on 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'. 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,” the UN Security general said.

Expressing gratitude to India for the warm welcome, Guterres said: “I hope that India's presidency of the G20 will help lead to the kind of transformative change our world so desperately needs.”

“I have come to the G20 with a simple but urgent appeal—we cannot go on like this. We must come together and act together for the common good,” he said.

The UN chief declared that divisions are growing around the world, tensions are flaring up, and trust is eroding, which together raise the spectre of fragmentation and confrontation.

“If we are indeed one global family – we today resemble a rather dysfunctional one. The fracturing would be deeply concerning in the best of times – but in our times, it spells catastrophe,” he asserted.  

“Our world is in a difficult moment of transition. The future is multipolar – but our multilateral institutions reflect a bygone age,” he added

Calling for deep structural reform, the UN security general said the global financial architecture is outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair.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.

We need effective international institutions rooted in 21st-century realities based on the UN Charter and international law,” he said. 

“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,” the UN chief added.

Listing the challenges that the world is facing, the UN chief explained climate crisis is worsening dramatically while the response is lacking in ambition, credibility, and urgency.

“Wars and conflicts are multiplying – but efforts to advance peace are faltering. New technologies are raising red flags – but actions to contain the risks remain too slow and too piecemeal,” he said.

Poverty, hunger, and inequalities are growing but global solidarity is missing in action, he noted.