79th UN General Assembly: Prof. Yunus to address largest global platform since taking over as CA

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York next week. It is believed to be a great opportunity for him to outline his government’s economic plans, including identifying areas where the international community can help strengthen and stabilize Bangladesh’s economy.

The interim chief adviser to the government will lead a “small and functional” delegation to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, said Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, who will accompany Prof Yunus during his short stay in New York.

Hossain said the chief adviser would be accompanied only by those directly responsible in the UN General Assembly.

There may be some side meetings, but given his limited stay in New York, the scope will also be limited. Bilateral side meetings are usually finalized at the last minute.

The top adviser is likely to leave Dhaka for New York early Tuesday morning, a senior Foreign Ministry official told UNB.

However, details will be released on Saturday when Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain briefs the media, he added.

South Asia expert Michael Kugelman said that Prof. Yunus’ participation in the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will be an excellent opportunity for him to present his government’s economic plans, including identifying areas where the international community can be helpful in strengthening and stabilizing the Bangladeshi economy.

“He will be speaking in New York on the largest global platform since he took over as adviser to the interim government,” said Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington.

Kugelman said that Prof. Yunus could do several things and say several things.

“I think that first of all he should present his vision of governance, the goals of the interim government, his reform plans and his efforts to restore democracy.”

Kugelman said he believed that Professor Yunus’ speech at the UN General Assembly would provide an opportunity for him to speak out on what is arguably Bangladesh’s greatest humanitarian challenge: the Rohingya refugee issue.

“I think it would be good if he asked for international aid or more international aid for Rohingya refugees, which would be particularly important for two reasons,” he said.

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA79) opened on 10 September. The first day of the high-level general debate will take place on Tuesday, 24 September.

Meanwhile, Heads of State and Government will meet on 22-23 September at the UN in New York to discuss the key challenges and gaps in global governance exposed by recent global shocks.

The Future Summit, the first of its kind, will bring together leaders, advocates and activists from every generation to explore how our international system can better meet the needs of current and future generations.

Secretary-General António Guterres said in New York that countries must use the once-in-a-generation UN summit to address current and emerging global challenges and reform outdated international institutions.

Guterres spoke as negotiations for the Future Summit, which opens at the UN on Sunday, enter their final phase.

“I have one most important message today: an appeal to member states for a spirit of compromise. Show the world what we can do when we work together,” he said.

“A Necessary First Step”

The two-day Future Summit is “a necessary first step towards making global institutions more legitimate, effective and fit for today’s and tomorrow’s world,” Guterres told reporters.

He added that work already done in the preparatory period reveals “potential breakthroughs on a number of important fronts.”

This includes “the strongest language on Security Council reform in a generation – and the most concrete step towards expanding the Council since 1963”, the first-ever measures to govern artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies, and progress in reforming the international financial architecture.

Other items include financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a commitment to promote an SDG stimulus package to increase financial support for developing countries.

“It would be tragic if all this was lost,” he warned.

Challenges, crises and conflicts

Guterres said the summit is “so critical” because “international challenges are moving faster than our capacity to solve them.”

He pointed to “uncontrolled geopolitical divisions and uncontrolled conflicts – notably in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere”, in addition to “uncontrolled” climate change, inequality and debt, and the development of artificial intelligence and other technologies that lack guidance or safeguards.

“Crises interact and feed off each other – for example, when digital technologies spread climate disinformation that deepens distrust and fuels polarisation,” he said.

Reform of multilateral institutions

Meanwhile, multilateral institutions “built in a bygone era and for a bygone world” simply cannot keep up.

Guterres said many of the challenges facing the world today were not taken into account 80 years ago when these institutions were established.

“Our founders understood that times would change,” he said. “They understood that the values ​​that underpin our global institutions are timeless – but the institutions themselves cannot be frozen in time.”

A world that is constantly changing

He added that peace activists at the time could not have anticipated the changes that have occurred over the past eight decades.

These include independence movements, the economic and geopolitical development of many developing countries, catastrophic climate impacts, space exploration, and the rise of the internet, smartphones, and social media, all of which are supported by artificial intelligence.

“Like our founders, we cannot predict exactly what the future will bring,” he admitted.

“But we don’t need a crystal ball to see that the challenges of the 21st century require problem-solving mechanisms that are more effective, networked, and inclusive; that the serious power imbalances in global institutions need to be corrected and updated; and that our institutions need to draw on the knowledge and representation of all humanity.”

Although the changes will not happen overnight, “they can start today,” he stressed.

Finish the job

Member States participating in the Summit are expected to adopt a Pact for the Future, to which a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration for Future Generations will be attached.

Guterres expressed hope that they would “do everything possible” to bring the documents “to the finish line.”

“We cannot create a future that is fit for our grandchildren using systems that were designed for our grandparents,” he said, stressing that the Summit “cannot fail.”

Leaders of the world

More than 130 heads of state and government are due to attend the Future Summit on 22-23 September – just ahead of the annual debate at the UN General Assembly.

The Summit will be accompanied by two “days of action” during which representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academia and the private sector will discuss key topics.