President-elect of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Abdulla Shahid has reiterated the only viable path forward is by embracing multilateralism.
Delivering the inaugural address at the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, Abdulla Shahid, also the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, said there are solutions for every challenge faced and the obstacle is not lack of solutions but rather the individual capacity of executing what is needed. He affirmed every challenge faced can be overcome by pursuing a multilateral approach.
Speaking on multilateral relations, Shahid reiterated countries must learn to embrace multilateralism to address the challenges and seize opportunities as one, as the world is too interconnected. He said it is the need for togetherness and unity that has led him to choose hope as the theme of the 76th session of the UNGA, adding people should be given a chance to hope for a better future.
During his speech, Shahid also noted the common challenges the world is facing, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and economic recovery. He further appreciated the close relations maintained with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) during his five terms in the Parliament of the Maldives.
He recalled how much he relied upon the support of IPU during some of the most challenging periods when he was the Speaker of Parliament.
Moreover, Shahid highlighted the priority areas of the 76th session, calling it the five rays of hope. As such, recovering from COVID-19, climate change and environment, promoting and protecting human rights, and address inequalities and injustices and gender equality are among key areas of focus during his term as the President of the UNGA.