The Summit of the Future opened with some drama when the Russian Federation tabled its objection to several paragraphs in the outcome documents: the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and Declaration on Future Generations. In the end, after months of negotiations, the Pact was adopted. UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Philémon Yang thanked the Co-Facilitators for steering a complex negotiating process and described the just-adopted Pact as a reflection of “our pledge” to lay the foundation for a sustainable, inclusive, and peaceful global order.
“We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink,” said UN Secretary-General António Gutteres in his opening remarks. He stressed that the authority of the UN Security Council is eroding and “will eventually lose all credibility” unless its composition and working methods are reformed. These views were further amplified by three youth representatives who eloquently described their hopes and dreams for a better future.
More than 100 high-level representatives of Member States and international agencies delivered statements throughout the day, of which 51 were heads of state or government. In parallel, the first two interactive dialogues on key Summit themes took place.
Opening the first dialogue on “Transforming Global Governance and Turbocharging the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Co-Chair K.P Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal, said key global priorities include:
- bridging the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) financing gap, which amounts to approximately 40% of the annual gross domestic product (GDP) of developing countries;
- reforming the international financial architecture;
- bridging the global digital divide; and
- ensuring adequate and predictable climate financing for the most vulnerable countries.
In their opening reflections, the heads of the World Trade Organization, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund outlined ongoing reform processes at their respective institutions, highlighting, among other actions, efforts to tackle environmentally harmful policies, scale up climate financing, and harness green growth opportunities.
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