THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

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Message to the Seventh Global Baku Forum delivered by Msş Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States 

“A New Foreign Policy”

Baku, 14-16 March 2019

I thank the Nizami Ganjavi International Centre for convening the seventh Global Baku Forum.

Our world faces a paradox:  challenges are increasingly interconnected, yet responses are fragmented.  From environmental threats and armed conflicts to rising inequality and intolerance, multilateralism is needed more than ever.  But simply saying this is not enough.  We need to show that we are mobilizing solutions that respond to people’s fears and anxieties, and that build a fair globalization that works for all.  That is what the United Nations strives to do every day: from peacekeeping to humanitarian assistance; from defending human rights to promoting sustainable development.

One looming threat can undo all our good work -- climate disruption.  Climate change is running much faster than our efforts to slow it.  I am convening a climate action summit in September in New York to raise ambition to meet this global existential challenge.  I will count on your support in both sounding the alarm and highlighting the opportunities of climate action.

Cooperation with other multilateral institutions, regional organizations, civil society, private sector and other stakeholders is essential.  In that spirit of partnership, I welcome your commitment to dialogue and offer my best wishes for a fruitful meeting.