Global Leaders Face Critical Challenges at U.N. Summit: Will They Step Up?

Global leaders at the U.N. gathering are urged to modernize international institutions to address future threats. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasizes the need for multilateralism amid geopolitical divisions and climate crises. Key global conflicts and leadership discussions will dominate the agenda, focusing on cooperation and peace.

Facing a multitude of conflicts and crises across a fragmented world, leaders at this week's U.N. gathering are being urged to collaborate not just on immediate issues, but also on modernizing the international institutions established post-World War II to address future challenges.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who raised this issue last year while sounding a global alarm about humanity's survival and the planet's future, calls for a "Summit of the Future" to recommit to multilateralism. He highlighted the rapid pace of global challenges, including geopolitical divisions, climate change, inequalities, and unregulated new technologies.

As the two-day summit begins Sunday, just days before the high-level meeting of world leaders, the outcome remains uncertain. The summit aims to foster international cooperation amid existing crises in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, with discussions on their impacts expected to dominate the week.

(With inputs from agencies.)