Multilateralism is alive at UN General Assembly: president

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Multilateralism is alive and kept well, Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, said on Monday at this year's high-level week.

"However much we may disagree on tactics, our end goal is very much the same," he said at the closing of the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.

The world continues to believe in dialogue and diplomacy, and in the United Nations that is able and ready, he said.

Over the last week, the General Assembly heard from 194 speakers, including 100 heads of state, 52 heads of government, three vice presidents, and 34 ministers, said Shahid.

A great deal of issues were discussed at the UN, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of climate change, as well as peace, security, and the risks of instability.

"It is now for us, and that of the United Nations system, to address these demands and to do so in a manner that turns every challenge into an opportunity -- an opportunity to strengthen multilateralism and deliver results on the ground," he said.

Shahid also hailed as a success this year's hybrid model, by which leaders either delivered speeches in person in the General Assembly Hall or sent in pre-recorded statements.

It was a tremendous task to organize a high-level week of this magnitude amid a global pandemic, he said.

The success of the UN General Assembly in the past week demonstrates that mitigation measures, combined with high vaccination rates, do indeed work, he said.