Ban Ki-moon: We face common challenges, we should share responsibilities

Ban Ki-moon, chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and former United Nations secretary-general, addresses the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 28, 2024. (Xinhua/ Guo Cheng)

Ban Ki-moon, the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations, reviewed the challenges facing the world today and encouraged guests to think dialectically about reality and create a future with responsible actions in a speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 on March 28 in Boao, south China’s Hainan Province.

Ban, who is also chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, recalled that working in the United Nations for many years has allowed him to witness both good times and hard times. He said when the "good times" come, the world enjoys the benefits of global peace dividends and rapid globalization; when the "bad days" come, the world is divided into opposing camps and blocks.

“We must not return to the ‘bad days’ in any case, and the only way forward is solidarity, cooperation, multilateralism, globalization, and an open world economy,” he said.

Ban said that the global crisis forces the world to work together, and insisted that when facing common challenges, the world should also share responsibilities.

He called on the leaders of Asia and the world present at the Boao Forum to stand up, say what should be said, and act decisively, so as to create a future with words and deeds and live up to people's expectations.

He said that the imminent climate crisis prompted countries to reach a historic consensus at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, but reality requires the world to take more effective actions to make more progress.

He said that the uncertain trends in geopolitics and geo-economics are worrying; global supply, trade and investment flows are being reorganized, and inclusive globalization is being sacrificed.

This photo taken on March 28, 2024 shows the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024 in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)