GENEVA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Challenges to world peace and security as well as the climate emergency can only be tackled through multilateralism, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretary General Martin Chungong has said.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Chungong said he thinks countries can work together to jointly respond to the common challenges and that he is optimistic about this.
Global problems demand global solutions, he noted.
Global solutions are about everybody, every stakeholder, and the global issues, such as the sustainable development goals, the climate emergency and the effects of lack of development are "not just felt by a group of countries, but felt throughout," he said.
Multilateralism is being challenged today and is not "functioning as efficiently as we would like it," said the IPU secretary general, noting it would be wrong to jeopardize it.
"We should avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater," he noted.
"What is required is a reinvented form of multilateralism ... that is more agile and can actually examine in a very clear fashion the global challenges facing the international community and find solutions," Chungong said.
"It is a multilateralism that needs to be more inclusive," he emphasized.
In his opinion, what Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech delivered at the United Nations Office at Geneva in January 2017 about building a community with a shared future for mankind is inspiring and beneficial.
"This was a ringing endorsement of the value of multilateralism and international cooperation and the very notion of shared prosperity, a shared future for mankind that goes to the core of multilateralism," said Chungong.
"We have seen the achievements made by China when it comes to lifting people out of poverty, and this experience can be shared with the rest of the global community," he added.
"This world belongs to every human being on this Earth. Whatever we do is to ensure that we move together, we enjoy together. We benefit from the fruits of our global efforts together, and no one should be left behind," he said.
Founded in 1889, the IPU is one of the world's oldest multilateral organizations.
Chungong said this year marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and called on IPU members to share their views on how the world should move forward with the help of multilateralism.
