New Delhi: Apart from attending the 2024 Quad summit to be hosted by US President Joe Biden in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, the other major event in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s itinerary during his visit to the US starting this weekend is his address to the UN Summit of the Future.
According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry on Tuesday, Modi will address the Summit of the Future at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23.
“The theme of the Summit is ‘Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’,” the statement reads. “A large number of global leaders are expected to participate in the Summit.”
What is the UN Summit of the Future about?
In June 2020, the 75th Anniversary of the UN was commemorated with a declaration from member states. This declaration outlined 12 overarching commitments and urged Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to provide recommendations addressing both current and future challenges. Responding to this, in September 2021, the Secretary-General released the report titled ‘Our Common Agenda’. This report served as a wake-up call, emphasising the need to accelerate the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fulfill the commitments outlined in the UN75 Declaration.
The report identified gaps that had emerged since 2015, some of which required new intergovernmental agreements. Consequently, it proposed the convening of a Summit of the Future to establish a new global consensus, preparing for a future marked by risks and opportunities. The General Assembly appreciated the report as “rich and substantive”. The Summit was conceptualised following the UN General Assembly's Resolution 76/307, adopted in 2022, with the goal of revitalising multilateralism and strengthening international cooperation to tackle emerging crises, such as climate change, pandemics, inequality, geopolitical tensions, and technological disruptions.
“The Summit of the Future offers a chance to commit to bold new solutions,” the Summit’s website states. “It provides an opportunity to create international mechanisms that better reflect the realities of the 21st century and can respond to today’s and tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities. As a global community, we have a role in setting a better course for our world. By working together, we can achieve a safer, more peaceful, just, equal, inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous future.”
What are the key objectives of the Summit?
The Summit of the Future seeks to achieve a broad spectrum of reforms and initiatives to equip the UN and the global community with the tools and frameworks necessary to confront the evolving global landscape.
The Summit will focus on revitalising international cooperation and making global governance more inclusive and effective in solving collective problems. It will emphasise the need to protect and promote global public goods like peace, public health, economic stability, environmental sustainability, and cybersecurity.
The Summit will also discuss reforms in the UN to make the organisation more agile, responsive, and representative, considering the changing dynamics of international politics. One major component will focus on conflict prevention, sustainable peace efforts, and reforming peacekeeping operations to adapt to contemporary security challenges.
There will be a strong emphasis on implementing the goals of the Paris Agreement and working towards more ambitious climate action.
The Summit will address the governance of emerging technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and data management, ensuring these advancements are aligned with human rights and development goals. Focus will also be on reducing global disparities, including those exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, by promoting policies that ensure fair distribution of resources, healthcare access, and development opportunities.
Discussions will include reforms in the international financial system, ensuring that it supports sustainable development, economic stability, and poverty reduction.