President Nangolo Mbumba says the Summit of the Future is a timely and urgent call to action to choose the path of peace, prosperity, and sustainable development.
Dr. Mbumba addressed the summit opening, which Namibia is co-facilitating with Germany, calling on UN member states to combine their resources and confront global crises head-on.
On Sunday, UN member states unanimously adopted the Pact of the Future and its annexes.
With one time bang of the gavel by the UNGA President, the Pact of the Future sailed through, adopted against the realisation that the world is confronted by rising catastrophic and existential risks, many caused by the choices made.
The Pact calls for the multilateral system and its institutions, with the United Nations and its Charter at the centre, to be strengthened to keep pace with a changing world.
The ultimate plan is to redress injustices and reduce inequalities within and between countries, particularly with financing.
President Mbumba says the Summit of the Future helped to build consensus, as it has been a collective effort over the past 18 months.
"We must leave this summit with renewed commitments and concrete action plans to eradicate poverty, eliminate hunger, tackle climate change, and build a global economy that works for all. Future generations will judge us not by our words but by our actions."
The adoption of the Pact of the Future also signals the centrality of the United Nations in negotiating solutions to global challenges.
President Mbumba strongly advocated for member states to be courageous in reforming international organisations, including the United Nations and its Security Council.
"First, the UN must empower nations and regions to adopt comprehensive pathways to provide economic opportunities and prosperity, underpinned by environmental sustainability. Second, the UN must strengthen global agreements and institutions to ensure the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Third, the UN must be equipped to finance these goals through an innovative global financial architecture."
The Pact of the Future further challenges the Security Council to ensure that peace operations are anchored in and guided by political strategies, deployed with prioritised mandates.
"The Pact shows our determination to restore trust in our common institutions. It shows all the talk of division, polarisation, and uncertainty will not be the end of the story of the United Nations because we still cooperate, we are still placing trust in one another, we are still committed to the principles of the Charter, and we are willing to treat each other with respect and fairness," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres added "We cannot wait for conditions. We must take the first decisive steps towards updating and reforming international cooperation and making it more fair, more inclusive now and today. Thanks to you, we have."
The Pact of the Future outlines 56 actions, whose penultimate test in part lies in successful and timeous implementation, without excluding any grouping.