Can the new governance group fix a fractured UN system?

APP

New York: China on Tuesday launched the Group of Friends of Global Governance at the United Nations, an initiative aimed at promoting a more just, equitable and effective global management system. Pakistan welcomed the move as “much-needed” amid mounting global challenges.

The inaugural meeting, held at UN Headquarters in New York, brought together representatives of nearly 40 founding member states. The session was chaired by China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Fu Cong, who said the Group would provide an “open and inclusive platform” to mobilize collective efforts for improved global governance.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, congratulated Ambassador Fu on the launch and noted that the initiative comes at a critical moment.

“This was much needed because it comes at a time when the world is confronted with unprecedented and multifaceted challenges, including eroding faith in multilateral diplomacy, protracted conflicts, disrupted global supply chains, rising debt distress, deepening inequalities, and the intensifying impacts of climate change,” he said.

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Ambassador Ahmad said President Xi Jinping’s Global Governance Initiative reflects “visionary leadership” and provides a blueprint that draws on best governance practices and modernization to tackle interlocking crises.

He said Pakistan “fully supports” the initiative, pointing to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks describing it as a historic step toward strengthening multilateralism to better address contemporary global challenges related to peace and development.

The initiative is anchored in five core principles: sovereign equality, international rule of law, multilateralism, a people-centered approach, and delivering real results.

Ambassador Ahmad said these principles align closely with Pakistan’s strategic priorities, particularly its commitment to a harmonious and fairer world order that protects the interests of developing nations.

He also underscored Pakistan’s support for peaceful dispute resolution, the right to self-determination for peoples under foreign occupation, and “win-win outcomes” in international cooperation.

“We should collectively advance reform that shuns privilege and divisive proposals, and corresponds to the interests of all,” he told delegates.

The Pakistani envoy also commended China’s “steadfast commitment to international cooperation” and its efforts to reinvigorate multilateral diplomacy.