TIANJIN: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has called on global powers to strengthen multilateralism, describing it as an inescapable necessity of our time.
Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Plus Summit in Tianjin on Monday, Oli warned that the credibility of global institutions has weakened due to a pattern of making big promises while delivering little.
“Multilateralism is in crisis. But abandoning it is not the solution. We need to make it more effective, inclusive, and result-oriented,” Oli said in his speech. He said the United Nations must remain at the center of a just and sustainable global governance system.
Highlighting China’s Global Governance Initiative (GGI) as a potential tool to strengthen multilateralism, Oli urged for a more united, coordinated, and flexible SCO to confront deepening geopolitical, economic, and environmental challenges. He reiterated Nepal’s aspiration to upgrade from dialogue partner to full SCO membership, a role it has held since 2016.
Oli drew attention to global threats including climate change, terrorism, cyberattacks, and pandemics. He noted Nepal’s particular vulnerability as a Himalayan nation facing the rapid retreat of glaciers, which threatens billions of people living downstream.
“No country can remain secure in isolation, nor can any people prosper in fragmentation,” Oli said, stressing that cooperation was essential to address shared problems. He outlined three key transformations for the future: moving from isolation to connectivity, from conflict to consultation, and from competition to cooperation.
Calling for renewed regional collaboration, Oli said, “Division must give way to unity, confrontation to dialogue, and rivalry to partnership. Only then can we build a just, inclusive, and resilient system that secures sustainable development for all.”
The summit, hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin, brought together heads of state and government from across the SCO and partner countries.
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