ALBAWABA - In a warning to the globe against breaking apart into competing divisions, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday, according to AFP, that the global trade system is under attack from all directions and is on the point of disintegration.
During a ceremony that was held to commemorate the sixty-year anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Guterres said that geopolitical tensions are increasing, that disparities are expanding, and that the climate issue is having a significant impact on many developing nations.
“New trade barriers introduced annually have nearly tripled since 2019, many driven by geopolitical rivalry, with no concern for their impact on developing countries,” the UN Chief stated at the United Nations' European headquarters in Geneva, adding that “multilateral cooperation is weakened and the forces of fragmentation grow stronger.”
Guterres stressed that the world's international financial structure has proven to be outdated, disorganized, and unfair, and that it has not succeeded in providing a sense of security for developing nations immersed in debt, according to UN News.
“To ensure peace and security, we need one global market and one global economy, in which there is no place for poverty and hunger,” he stated.
Guterres also emphasized how the mission of UN Trade and Development is now more important than ever in promoting a more environmentally friendly and inclusive global economy, by means of commerce and investment in the face of such gravely alarming circumstances, including growing geopolitical tensions, rising inequality, and skyrocketing debt.
