NEW YORK, Sept 21 (KUNA) --World leaders, including His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's Representative His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, gathered in New York on Tuesday for the start of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, with the COVID-19 pandemic on top of the agenda.
Highlighting the "supersized glaring inequalities" triggered by the pandemic, UN chief Antonio Guterres struck an alarming tone in his annual speech over global affairs, saying the world is "on the edge of the abyss and moving in the wrong direction." He lamented the lack of solidarity among nations to tackle "the greatest cascade of crises in our lifetime," citing the unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the world, where supply is abundant in some countries and scarce in others.
The UN chief urged world leaders to "bridge divides and restore trust" on efforts to fight climate change and reduce the gap between the rich and poor, in addition to promoting gender equality and "tackling the generation divide" by giving the youth more opportunities.
In the face of these mounting challenges, the UN chief said he has "hope" that the UN would be able to bring its development goals to fruition through more solidarity and cooperation among its 193-member states.
Over 100 heads of state are delivering their speeches in person from the General Assembly podium this year, after having given their remarks via video link last year because of COVID-19 restrictions. (end) asf.nam