António Guterres (UN Secretary-General) ahead of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly - Press Conference

Oh, you need a paper. OK. Do you have a pen? You have a pen? Always prepared. All right. Good morning. Welcome to this traditional pre-General Assembly press conference. Secretary General will, as usual, make some opening remarks, and we will also take some questions. Sir, please.

Dear members of the media, this is the final press conference of those done before the opening of the high-level week of the General Assembly. And so allow me to begin with a word of gratitude. Thank you for all you do to share the work of the UN with the world and for holding us all to account. For me, this is not the moment to look back. It is a time to look ahead. World leaders will be gathering at the United Nations in a year of deep uncertainty. At the same time, power is shifting, the world is changing, and our institutions must change with it. But updating our structures can never mean abandoning our principles. It must be applying those principles with even greater determination. The United Nations is not just a platform. It is a promise. So my message to leaders comes down to this: Keep your promises. Live up to the UN Charter. Be true to the ideals you pledged to uphold. Defend international law. Protect human rights. Invest in sustainable and inclusive development. And push for peace, now more than ever. At this crucial moment in the Middle East, de-escalation must be priority one, priority two, and priority three. All parties, must cease any actions that harm civilians and ensure that humanitarian operations can proceed safely and without obstruction. Navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb must be fully restored and respected by all in accordance with international law. The only path forward is de-escalation, diplomacy, and dialogue. And I will continue to press this message in my ongoing contact with leaders. In the context of upheaval across the Middle East, we must never forget the dramatic suffering of the Palestinian people, both in Gaza and West Bank. The peace plan for Gaza must be fully implemented with unrestricted humanitarian aid. And the creeping annexation of the West Bank must stop. There will be no peace in the Middle East without realizing the two-state solution. At the same time, we are well into the fifth year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with immense civilian suffering, cascading global consequences, and no end in sight. It's time for an immediate ceasefire as a first step towards a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in line with UN Charter, international law, and relevant UN resolutions. Dear ladies and gentlemen of the media, as we look to threats around the world, let me say a final word about rising concerns regarding the advance of artificial intelligence. AI has enormous potential to accelerate sustainable development, enhance learning, strengthen health systems, boost climate resilience, and so much more. But a growing number of those building it are sounding the alarm. warning that development is racing ahead of our understanding of the risks. Some call for a pause, many call for guardrails. And we cannot afford to ignore concerns that have been raised, especially by those on the front lines of the development of AI. Governments must assume their responsibilities. It is the first responsibility of any government to protect its citizens including from the threats of artificial intelligence. National action is essential, but global coordination is also indispensable because AI does not stop at borders and neither do its risks. Voluntary pauses that are isolated, unverifiable, and unevenly applied will not address the problem. If we believe AI development should slow when risks become too great, We need more than good intentions. Through the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, we have brought together global scientific expertise to ensure that policy is guided by evidence. And artificial intelligence will certainly be a major topic in my discussions with world leaders next week. And the United Nations will continue to explore practical ideas and approaches in the immediate days ahead. We need a shared understanding on how to advance the safe, secure, and responsible development of AI, while identifying when increasingly powerful systems may require stronger safeguards or additional measures to manage potential risks. And this requires genuine international cooperation and a coordinated global effort. I am aware of the geopolitical divides and the temptations they might generate. But the world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety. We need guardrails to build trust and that make AI safe, transparent, accountable, with human dignity at the center. At a time when the world faces three existential threats, runaway artificial intelligence, the climate crisis, and the intolerable deepening of inequalities, international cooperation is more necessary than ever. Thank you.

Thank you very much, sir. Before we turn to your questions, usual reminder to stick to one question so as many of you can ask questions. And we have our great interpreters in the back, so feel free to ask questions in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and even English, but not yet Italian. But, Valeria, you go first.

I was about to ask. Thank you, Stefan. Thank you, Secretary General, on behalf of the UN Correspondent Association, for this press conference, and good luck for your final high-level week. Valeria Robecco from ANSA Newswire. After a year of wars, deep geopolitical divisions and growing doubts about the effectiveness of multilateralism, what is the one thing that you believe the United Nations should deliver during this General Assembly to restore trust in the institution? Thank you so much.

I think we must take profit of this week. to allow for a large number of meetings between those leaders that are relevant in the context of the crisis that we are facing. I would remind you that last year there was a very important meeting of the United States with a number of Muslim countries that led to the peace plan for Gaza. And obviously, I think we will do everything possible to create the opportunities for similar encounters to take place. This is an excellent occasion for leaders of countries that are facing confrontations or problems to meet together and to try to find solutions.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary General, and we know how busy you're going to be next week with, I think, about 130 world leaders.

40.

140.

Bilateral meetings last.

Year. Even though that's a very significant number, are you disappointed that China's president, Xi Jinping, is going to be in Washington on Thursday to meet with President Trump. And he's not taking a short train ride or plane ride to come to New York to address the General Assembly? And have you made sure the escalators are working when President Trump arrives?

Well, in relation to the first question, of course, I would like to have President Xi Jinping with us. But let me remind you that he just received me a few months ago, that we met twice last month. And on top of that, that he has been a staunch defender of a world order based on multilateralism with the UN at its center. So I'm not worried at all about the Chinese position. And in relation to the escalator, we had an inquiry made last year. That inquiry, I will not I'm not going to enter into details, but let me relive And I can tell you that we took additional measures in order to make sure that whoever goes around does not interact negatively with the escalator.

Thank you, Sherin.

Secretary-General, all the way at the back over here, Sherwin Bryce, South Africa. Sorry, sorry, we're out of broadcasting.

Oh, my God.

No, you can just call me Sherwin, thanks.

Secretary-General, the war in Sudan is being sustained not only by the parties fighting on the ground, but by the continued flow of weapons and support from outside of the country. What responsibility do states supplying arms to the warring parties bear for prolonging this conflict? And should they face consequences for continuing to fuel a war that has produced one of the world's gravest and largest humanitarian crises?

I have to say that what is happening in Sudan is absolutely horrible. The humanitarian situation in Sudan is devastating. The level of suffering of the Sudanese people is intolerable. And obviously there is a responsibility of the Sudanese themselves that are divided and that are fighting each other. But it is true that the conflict is fueled by a number of countries from the outside. They are, this was analyzed, we have no intelligence services, but this was analyzed by the panel of experts of the Security Council and the conclusions are clear. And in my opinion, there should be accountability for the kind of interference in which some countries provide weapons to parties to a conflict when those weapons are used massively to attack civilians.

Thank you. Yoshita, then Sinan.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary General. Yoshita Singh with Press Trust of India. You've just come back from India, from the BRICS summit, where the Delhi Declaration was adopted under India's chairship, bringing together various divergent countries from Iran to UAE around a common set of issues. How do you see this bridging of differences and consensus against the backdrop of a deeply divided Security Council, which has not been able to bring countries together on the major geopolitical crisis? Thank you.

Obviously, not all countries of the Security Council were present in the meeting of the BRICS. But what is important is to say that the common declaration that was produced is a common declaration with a strong commitment of all of them to multilateralism and by all of them to the United Nations. So from that point of view, It is reassuring that a large number of the important powers that exist in the world believe that multilateralism is the way to address crises and that the UN must be at the center of those efforts.

Sinan.

Thank you, Stefan, and thank you, Mr. Secretary General, I'm right here. My name is Sinan Tunstam from the Amargi.

From, sorry.

My name is Sinan Tunstam from the Amargi.

Giving the UN's historical role in resolving conflicts involving non-state actors. Are there any back-channel negotiations underway with the Houthis to reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia? Thank you very much.

There is a huge effort by our special envoys in relation to that. And we have clearly condemned the attacks by the Houthis to civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and to the obstacles to navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb. At the same time, we ask both sides to be able to establish a dialogue in order to end this dramatic aggravation of the conflict in the Middle East.

Reuters.

Secretary General, Anthony Slotkowski with Reuters. You spent most of your opening remarks on the sounding alarm about risks related to the sort of breakneck speed of AI development. It's difficult to sort of not draw the contrast with President Trump who just this week called sort of people who are, you know, calling for the slowdown, you know, call that whole thing, you know, a sick conspiracy and and a hoax. What's your response to those comments and how do you view your position vis a vis the Trump position?

Well, we're in a number of leaders and workers of the companies that are in the frontier of A.I. are the first to say that there are risks they still are not entirely able to control, I don't think we can ignore that. So I think there is a responsibility of governments in order to act to protect their own citizens, and there is a responsibility of the international community to create the conditions in order to find a way in which the pacing of the development of AI guarantees that safety is fundamentally taken into account.

Lenka, then Abdelhamid.

Thank you very much for this briefing. Lenka White from RIA Novosti. US negotiators have recently visited Moscow and Kyiv to continue peace talks. How far, according to you, are we from achieving peace in Ukraine? And would you be willing to host a trilateral meeting here at the UN during the GA with the ministers from these countries? Thank you.

I would be delighted to do it if possible. And I think it is absolutely essential to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine and to create the conditions to move to a just peace. Unfortunately, we see that the war is going on and on and on, and we see devastating consequences for the global economy. And I'm particularly worried with the suffering of civilians, of course, larger number in the Ukraine, but also in the Russian Federation. And we always condemn any attacks on civilians. And at the same time, we see that in relation to food security, fertilizers and energy, the effective blockade existing in the Black Sea is creating enormous problems that add to the problems generated by the Middle East crisis. And I think it would be very important to find a way to allow Ukrainian exports and Russian exports of food, fertilizers, and energy to take place in a safe way through the Black Sea.

Thank you. Abdelhamid and Ephraim, go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary General. First, congratulate you for surviving 10 turbulent years. We really commend you. So far, so good. Stay all your sanity.

I still have three months in the House.

You have recently received a letter from the Palestine mission detailing all the statements by senior Israeli officials about the fear of expulsion, eviction of Palestinians, and ethnic cleansing. You have received that letter. So How much you are concerned about this fear that the Palestinians now feel? They don't see the two-state solution, which you spoke about it first year you came to this office and last year. You still talk about two-state solution. But the Palestinians now are fearing the expulsion, the eviction, the ethnic cleansing, which is taking place now as we speak in Gaza and the West Bank.

We are extremely worried with the situation that is taking place. First of all, we recognize the efforts, namely of Mr. Mladenov, in order to advance the two stages of the peace plan that was elaborated, and it is clear that Israel is not accepting the implementation of the peace plan as it is conceived now. And at the same time, we go on having strikes in Gaza and we go on having serious threats to the civilian population in Gaza. In the West Bank, on the other hand, there is a gripping annexation with violence by the settlers, sometimes with the support of security forces, that are absolutely intolerable. And at the same time, the launch of the new settlement that, if completed, might divide the territory in two, is obviously entirely against international law and a serious risk for peace in the Middle East. It's time to stop this creeping annexation. It's time to stop any actions that might lead to this ethnic cleansing that you referred. And it's time to create the conditions for the two-state solution to be again put seriously on the table.

Ephraim, then Joe.

Thank you so much, Secretary General. This is Efrim Kosaifi with Arab News Daily. If you could speak directly to the people whose tragedies you could not stop and who were pinning all their hopes on the UN, from Gaza to Lebanon to Sudan, what would you tell them? Do you feel that you owe them a mea culpa?

Culpa means that I am responsible for what's happening to them. So I don't think that the question is of expression of a mea culpa because I've been consistently fighting for the rights of those peoples. What I can, I could say is on behalf of the international community, yes, on behalf of the international community, there is a mea culpa that needs to be expressed because the international community has been many times indifferent to the suffering of those peoples and this is absolutely intolerable. And we see, for instance, as with the developments in the crisis in the Gulf, there was a tendency to forget what was happening in Gaza or the West Bank. And our position has been very clear. There will be no peace in the Middle East without solution of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, and there will be no peace in the Horn of Africa if the Sudan crisis is not solved.

Joe, then Georgia.

Joseph Klein, Canada Free Press.

Over there.

I'm ready. Joseph Klein, Canada Free Press. And also I want to thank you for your years of public service on the world stage, as difficult as that has been. I want to follow up on the Hooties, because diplomacy has not been working. They have unilaterally opened up another front. and are advancing toward the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which is falling under their control. That jeopardizes not only open navigation and free passage way for shipment of oil, but also it threatens internet cables that carry nearly one fifth of the world's web traffic right in that vicinity. So I want to know, do you believe that in order to prevent these catastrophes from happening, in addition to the humanitarian catastrophe, that in the absence of specific Security Council Chapter 7 authorization, military action should be off the table? It's not a legitimate response and you still call only for diplomacy and dialogue with this terrorist organization?

No, military action is taking place as we speak. The problem is that it's very difficult to have a military solution for that problem. And the experience of fighting in Yemen has demonstrated how complicated it is to have successful interventions in Yemen. Look at history. That is why it is so important. Beyond the condemnation of the acts that you have mentioned and beyond affirming the need to preserve freedom of navigation in the Bab el-Mandeb at all costs, it is very important to open the doors for a serious negotiation. Because military action is taking place, but it will not solve the problem by itself.

Georgia, Mariam, and then Bisan.

Thank you, Secretary General. In here.

Right there.

Georgia Karangiotti from Greek National Television, Athens News Agency, and Cyprus News Agency. Given the recent conversations you had with your personal envoy for Cyprus, would you judge that the conditions you had set back in July have been or are now being met for a possible 3+1 or even 5+1 meeting on the margins of UNGA? Thank you.

Not on the merger of UNGA, there is still a lot of work to be done, but we are determined to move things ahead and we are determined to do everything possible for that to take place when conditions are met for the meeting to be successful. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past.

Miriam, Hassan, then Pam. Go ahead.

Thank you, Secretary-General. Here, Miriam Rahmati with Iran International and Afghanistan International. Today marks four years since Mahsa Amini died in the custody of morality police in Iran. At the same time, right now, Security Council is discussing your latest report on Afghanistan, UNAMIR report. where the Taliban continues to systematically erase women and girls from public life. Do you believe the United Nations and also the international community has failed the women of Iran and Afghanistan? Thank you.

Well, this has been one of the constant areas of our intervention, advocacy, and action on the ground. It is absolutely intolerable that women, first of all, are not allowed even to work in our premises. It is absolutely intolerable that the access of girls to education is limited. And it's absolutely intolerable that women are not allowed to work except in very specific circumstances. This is one of the biggest concerns and we have been very active, mobilizing as much as we can the international community and putting pressure on the Taliban and making them understand that what they are doing is undermining the capacity of the country to move ahead, is undermining humanitarian aid, and is putting severe limitations to the development of the country. So that is for us a fundamental concern.

And women of Iran, sorry.

The same concern about what has been happening recently in relation to violations of human rights of different sorts, and especially the use of death penalty that, as you know, we are entirely against.

Bissan Abou Qweik, Al Jazeera Arabic.

Right here.

Right there, sir, on the left.

Thank you, Secretary General. Bissan Abou Qweik with Al Jazeera Arabic. One of your closing messages that we just heard to world leaders is another call for the respect of international law and the UN Charter. These calls so far have fallen on deaf ears with no consequences, with the impunity that we see. Why and how would world leaders and countries listen to these calls given that there are no concrete consequences? And do you think that the mechanisms that are in place to enforce consequences for the violation of international law and war crimes are decaying?

Well, let's be clear. We have geopolitical divides. And in these geopolitical divides, we have powers that themselves violate international law. and sit in the Security Council. And that has been paralyzing the Security Council, as we know. That is why the reform of the Security Council must be an absolute priority. It is unacceptable to have a Security Council with a composition that reflects the world of many decades ago instead of reflecting today's world. And that is a factor of paralysis. And that paralysis has created a situation in which, because the example coming from the biggest powers is not a good example, every country around the world feels that they are entitled to do whatever they want. And they know that they will do it with impunity because the Security Council, that is the organization that is supposed to maintain peace and security in the world, is paralyzed. And that impunity has created this environment in which we see more and more countries violating international law, more and more countries violating international humanitarian law, more and more countries violating human rights law and doing it in total impunity. And let's be clear, the question is a question of power and the question is that The way power is distributed and power is used in our world does not allow multilateral institutions to act effectively.

Pam, Aro, then Chris.

Thank you, Steph. Thank you, Secretary-General, for all of these briefings. It's Pamela Falk from U.S. News & World Report. You have been running this organization for 10 years. What do you consider your greatest achievement in terms of legacy? And is there time for any other developments, achievements in the next three months at the end of your term? Thank you.

Well, I don't like to talk about achievements because, I mean, it's for the others to judge. I'm doing my best to be as useful as possible to those that I'm supposed to serve, the international community and the people of the world, especially those that are most vulnerable. But if you want something symbolic, not my measure of achievement, but something symbolic that is very important for me is the fact that we are reaching parity between women and men in the United Nations. We have parity already at the level of the senior management of the organization. We have parity in our resident coordinators around the world, and we are now having parity in the whole of the international staff of the UN. And I think this is, in today's world, a true revolution. And I'm very happy that the UN is giving the example that only with full equality between women and men, it will be possible to have a more peaceful and more just world.

And anything in the next few months.

In the next few months, we'll do everything we can to address all the challenges we face. Where we'll be able to succeed or not, it's difficult to say, because the problems are getting worse. And that is something I would like to say. When we see the Russia-Ukraine war, and when we see the whole Middle East, every day things get a little bit worse. there is no improvement anywhere. And when things evolve in a way that everyday things get a little bit worse, we are at the serious risk of an explosion that can create a catastrophic situation with absolutely devastating impacts at the global level.

Thank you for your leadership, particularly in giving a voice to the south and also in terms of the AI and world hunger. You mentioned again today the power shift and the inability of international institutions to reflect that. You were recently at the BRICS summit. Do you see any role for organizations potentially developing like the BRICS to supplement or?

Emerge as alternatives in terms of reflecting the power shift.

Well, the institutions that we have today reflect power relations of many decades ago, most of them at the end of the Second World War. The world is changing, and we are seeing the emergence of new powers. And today, if one looks at the global economy, Every single day, the percentage of developed countries in global GDP diminishes a little bit, and every single day, the percentage of emerging economies in the global GDP increases a little bit. So there is a change in what is the relative weight of countries in the world today in relation to what it was when these institutions were created. The power relations no longer correspond to the realities of the world. So there must be a redistribution of power. And one thing that is essential in this redistribution of power is the reform of multilateral institutions. And there are two institutions where this reform is essential, it's the Security Council and the system.

Chris, then, excuse me, then Islam, then Ara.

Thank you for this briefing, Secretary-General, and thank you for your years of service. Chris Reyes with Canadian Broadcasting. Secretary-General, as you head into your final high-level week, I'm wondering whether you could share one piece of advice in the context-.

A piece of advice? Advice.

Advice. In the context of some of the shortcomings of the UN that you just talked about, that you would pass on to the next Secretary-General that would help her or him be more effective in this role? And if you could just allow for a moment of reflection, what is the one lesson that you would take away from your last 10 years?

Well, I have no advice to give to my successor except to tell my successor, be yourself and be independent and act according to your conscience. The second question was.

What is the one lesson that you would take away from the last 10 years of leading this institution?

The lesson that I will take away is that we when we have a world that is becoming more and more multipolar, it is absolutely essential to reform the multilateral institutions in order to be able to those institutions to be effective. in relation to the promotion of peace, development, and human rights that are the three pillars of the UN.

Islam, Nada, then Denis.

Thank you very much, Secretary-General. My name is Islam Doru from Anadolu Agency. Climate change is one of the key issues the UN advocate during the high-level meetings next week. In the light of the recent disaster in Nepal and also reports on global warming, Do you expect, do you hope any concrete outcome next week, this year, especially comparing the previous years? Thank you.

I think there are reasons to believe that the circumstances we are witnessing will force countries to move ahead with much more determination. On one hand, It is obvious that things are getting dramatically worse from the point of view of the impacts of climate change in the life of countries and in the life of people. What recently happened in Nepal is the proof of that. Three years ago, I was in the glaciers of the Annapurna and in the glaciers of Everest. And I said at the time that things were getting worse dramatically and something catastrophic might happen. It has just happened. And we are risking to have tipping points in several aspects related to the coral possible death. related to what might happen to forests being transformed into savannas, what is happening in the acceleration of melting in Antarctica, the West Antarctica and Greenland. So there are reasons to think that things can even get much worse. And so this is a reason for countries to understand that they need to do more, that the commitments they have made until now, the national determined contributions that were expressed are not enough. It's necessary to drastically reduce emissions in the next few years. We will in any case have a overshoot above 1.5 degrees. We need that overshoot to be as short and as low as possible. Now, the reason, the other reason why I believe countries will be forced to act is because Two things work in favor of climate action. First, the economy and technology. Second, security. What is true is that renewables are today much cheaper than any other form of production of energy, practically everywhere in the world. The technology is improving substantially also in relation to grid management and to to batteries, to capacity, to, um, keep the energy, uh, storage, uh, uh, at the same time, uh, uh, we see, um, from the security point of view that, uh, uh, the fossil fuels, uh, are, uh, completely dependent on the, uh, evolution of the different conflicts in the world. And the prices are going up enormously with dramatic impacts in people and high profits for the companies, which is, of course, a moral scandal. And we see the prices rising and we see that the conditions of supply are putting severely into question. So for reasons of security, because the wind will always blow. and the sea will always shine. There are no limitations. There are no Straits of Ormuz or problems in the Black Sea that will impact on the origins of renewable energy. I think for the economic reasons that I mentioned and for reasons of security, the intelligent thing for governments to do is to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables and to make that transition just. And that, of course, means a very solid support to developing countries in this situation.

Neda, Dennis, and Jessica.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary General. Neda Tawfik here in the back with the BBC. Good luck this week. Touching more on AI, your scientific panel, what kind of access have they had, for example, to some of the leaders of the AI companies? Are you reaching out to them, given especially their recent warnings? And when it comes to the great powers, we've heard President Trump say, whoever wins AI wins. So clearly not a great sign for multilateralism, a sign there that he wants to compete at all costs. Are you seeing cooperation from the likes of China? How is the US responding to these calls from you for more global coordination?

Well, first of all, the panel is independent and the panel makes all contacts with all entities that they find adequate, and we fully trust the panel on this. In relation to the second point that you mentioned, I made a reference in my initial intervention, and we need, obviously, to take into account that we have a geopolitical divide. And that geopolitical divide might create conditions, let's hope we will be able to avoid it, in which each of the superpowers might think that let's do as much as possible and as quickly as possible to make sure that we are ahead of the other one. And obviously, this can create serious risks. I remind that during the Cold War, there was obviously a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, but there was in relation to the nuclear risks, a number of contacts, there was at a certain moment even, uh, agreements, uh, to reduce, uh, nuclear arsenals. And, uh, there were measures after some risks that were detected, uh, and we remember the crisis of Cuba, for instance, after those risks, there were measures that were put in place to create a dialogue and to create an exchange of information, uh, that would be extremely important. In my opinion, it is essential that the countries that have capacity, and I'm not referring only to the two biggest ones, the countries that have the highest capacity in the frontiers of AI, I think they should establish mechanisms of contact, of exchange of information, and some common guardrails in order to avoid this race to the bottom that could lead one day to a gigantic disaster at the global level.

Denis, Jessica, then Carrie.

Thank you, Secretary General, for conducting this briefing and for your years of service at this post. My question is about Iranian So, given unique opportunity that high-level week gives in terms of direct talks, have you anticipated organizing negotiations between American and Iranian officials next week?

We can only organize what people will be willing to do.

Jessica, Carrie, then Noreen.

Secretary General, thank you for the briefing. Jessica Le Masurier from France 24. Another AI question. Would you support hosting a pro-human summit on curbing AI, the excesses of AI, here at the United Nations? And wouldn't next week be the perfect opportunity? It's something that's been suggested by characters on both sides of the political spectrum here, both Bernie Sanders, Steve Bannon, just recently. Would this be something that you would consider hosting here at the United Nations? And a second question, to what extent do you think that the Board of Peace will usurp the role of the UN in Gaza, and what would that mean for Gazan civilians?

First of all, I think that it makes full sense at the right moment to have a serious international summit on artificial intelligence. I don't think we can do it properly next week. If we do it next week, it would not be well prepared and it will be competing with a number of other initiatives. So my feeling is that this is something that needs to be seen by itself and with the process leading to forms of international cooperation in which a summit might be, I fully agree, an important step in the right moment. The second question was the.

To what extent do you think the Board of Peace is usurping the role of the United Nations in Gaza?

The Board of Peace is not replacing the United Nations. In Gaza, there are a number of activities that are being led. Those activities have faced enormous difficulties, enormous problems. I mean, it was not only the UN that had difficulties and problems in humanitarian aid. The Board of Peace is finding also enormous difficulties, namely the recent demarches that were made to move ahead with the so-called phases one and two, once again found the opposition of Israel. So we are interested in that plan to move ahead. We are interested in a situation in which there is the progressive disarmament of Hamas and progressive withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, full humanitarian access, and the creation of conditions for a link to be established between Gaza and the West Bank to make sure that we are not looking into a solution for Gaza that forgets the need to maintain alive the perspective of the two-state solution.

Carrie, Noreen, then Magdalena.

Secretary-General, thank you very much. Thanks, and good luck for your last high-level week next week. Carrie Norton from Radio France Internationale. I wanted to -- my question has already been partially answered, and it's great that three female journalists have asked you AI questions today. But this weekend, Entropiq CEO Dario Amodei said exactly the same thing as you, that there was a needed de-escalation like it was in the 60s, actually. Considering how important this development is made by private companies, Do you think, and you're talking about maybe organizing soon a serious summit about this question. We know now there's a serious consequences about the whole humanity. Would you be willing to have not only put the responsibility on governments, but also include to a larger scale all the private actors of AI in that summit?

It is obvious for me that it is absolutely essential to have everybody on board, to have governments, to have the companies, to have scientists, and to have the civil society. We need all of them together. And I hope that this will be possible, and I hope that there will be ways to make all understand that we need to move ahead, but we need to move ahead in conditions in which safety is not put into question.

Noreen, Magdalena, and then Marta.

Right here. Mr. Secretary-General, thank you so much. My name is Noreen Hossain with IPS News. Much has been said about how the UN has struggled to fulfill its mandate. and how it has focused in recent years has focused more on peace and security over development. How can the UN and its member states reprioritize its mandate on development when many Western donors and their allies seem more preoccupied with increasing their military spending over their official development assistance or ODA to developing states? Thank you.

Well, let's be clear. Some accuse us of not doing enough in peace and security and doing too much in development and human rights. And some accuse us that we are concentrated on peace and security. And I have to tell you, for me, there is equality among the three pillars. There is no peace without development. There is no development without peace. There is no development, peace without human rights. And we need to pay the same attention to all of them. And obviously, one of our biggest concerns is with the fact that the present situation is creating dramatic problems to developing countries, many of them are completely, um, uh, strangled by debt, um, many of them do not have the resources to, uh, provide their citizens with the minimum of conditions. And, uh, um, they are being, uh, uh, impacted more than any other, any others, both in energy and in food security, um, uh, with the consequences of what's happening in the state of and, uh, in the global Middle East in general, and, uh, the consequences of the Russian-Ukraine war, and so, uh, the… concerns to support these countries and to change the way international, uh, financial institutions work in order to be able to address their needs is for us a very clear priority that we will never put aside.

Magdelena, Martin, and Stefano.

Thank you very much, Secretary General. I'm Magdalena del Valle with Bloomberg News. And I'm wondering if you think it's possible to see progress on the war in Iran during high-level week on the war in Iran next week, since one of the members most involved in the war is the host country and can determine the movements of the Iranian delegation. And to that point, I'm wondering if you've spoken to either the Americans or the Iranians about the capacity to which the Iranian delegation will be able to participate next week. Do you know if they are even coming? How do you see that moving forward?

I think that there is no solution for the crisis without dialogue. Of course, it would be very useful if the dialogue would take place here. Probably it will take place somewhere else, but it is absolutely essential that that dialogue is established. I recall that we had a moment in which we thought that we were moving in the right direction. There was a memorandum of understanding, and then all of a sudden everything got put in question again. And the situation has been enlarged It's not only a question between the US and Iran. We have also a number of countries in the Gulf that are being attacked and, of course, with dramatic impact in their economies and in the global economy, which is also unacceptable. It is a complex set of problems that requires a serious dialogue between the U.S. and Iran, between Iran and the countries of the Gulf, including the mediators. You have two important ones, Pakistan And I'll be visiting Pakistan, by the way, soon. Pakistan and Turkey, also Egypt and Saudi Arabia, even if Saudi Arabia is at the present moment becoming one of the victims of this conflict.

Marta, then Stefano, then Namu.

Thank you. My name is Marta Moreira from Lusa and SIC from Portugal. I will take the opportunity to speak in Portuguese.

Secretary-General, this will be your last General Assembly, the last high-level week, when a Secretary-General, I imagine that you'll come to this General Assembly looking at a world with so many conflicts at the same time, and I wonder whether your future will, whether your future, your professional future, will be moving towards Portugal.

Well, firstly, I think that 10 years ago, no one could have foreseen that we would arrive at a situation that has worsened so much in terms of peace and security, with a level of dramatic inequality much worse than what we found when we came into office, and two situations that represent existential risks, the climate and the other conflicts going on, it's difficult to imagine a more threatening environment than the one that we see at the moment. With regard to my professional future, I have no idea, quite frankly. As regards where I'm going to live, it will be, I'm sure, in Portugal. Thank you.

No, then Namo.

Secretary General Hip, Stefano Vaccara, Hitel Press. Secretary General, you just told Melissa Fleming that the powers of the Secretary General have the biggest bluff in international relations. Envoy Magazine recently compared you to a Formula One driver asked to drive a Fiat 500 from the '60s like a Ferrari. After 10 years, was the job of a bluff or an impossible race? And what does that tell us about what your successor can realistically achieve?

What is the bluff is not the function in itself. But what is true is that indeed the Secretary General has no power. We have no army, we have no intelligence services. And there's not much money, as you have been all aware. There are two things I have, and I believe those two things I've been using. One is the voice. And it's very important that the Secretary General of the organization is a reference in relation to defending in all circumstances and without double standards, the charter, international law, international humanitarian law, and the values of the UN. And this, I believe, has been done. Imagine what it would be if the Secretary-General of the United Nations would be himself or herself an element putting into question those essential values and justifying the negative actions that are taking place around the world based on some kind of transactional approach. And second, the Secretary-General has some convening capacity, and I've been using that convening capacity The fact, for instance, is that we were able to have an high level independent panel on artificial intelligence in the UN. The fact that in many other areas it was possible to bring together different actors to try to solve problems that can only be solved in cooperation. But real power in the sense that the superpowers have, or enough money for the needs of the organization. These are two things that the Secretary General has not, which makes that power that some people perceive as a blip, because it's not based on power and money that we can act, it's based on the coherence of our voice and on the capacity to convene all those with goodwill to solve the problems of humankind.

Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary General. This is Namo Abdullah with Rudaw Media Network. My question is about Syria. You were in Syria recently, and you've met the President, the new President of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, I think at least twice. I just want to know if there are things that you've heard from him that make you optimistic about the future of Syria? And where do you specifically stand on mother tongue education that Kurds are demanding in Syria? Is this an issue that you will raise with him? The Kurds want to be able to study in Kurdish. Thank you.

Well, I have to say that the President of Syria in the context with me has said all the right things about all the different aspects related to Syrian development, and in particular, very committed to the agreement that was established with the leadership of the Kurdish community that is moving in the right direction. And I believe that Syria has enormous problems. I mean, it comes from a situation of war and from a long dictatorship, so it would be impossible to have a perfect country at the present moment. But my deep belief is that we all must engage to support Syria and that Syria is globally moving in the right direction. Not everything is perfect, but it's globally moving in the right direction. And I hope that the questions of the educational system will be discussed within Syria and that an adequate solution will be found to take into account the interests of the population.

Last question to our Doug fellow, Ainur.

Hello, my name is Ainur.

Hold on, you have to press the button. There we go.

My name is. I represent Silk Way TV channel of Kazakhstan. And I want to ask the question about the initiative put forward by Kazakhstan in establishing the International Water Organization on the auspices of the United Nations that will help to bring the water issues to the forefront of international agenda. So what do you make of the importance of this initiative? And will it be discussed during the upcoming high-level week with developing a timeline for its actual launch?

I think it is a very important initiative. I have to recognize that there has been a lot of reluctance in member states or some member states, some key member states, to the creation of new organizations within the UN. But I fully understand that water is something that is life, and water is present in all areas of the problems of peace, the problems of development, and the problems of human rights. And so, obviously, we see with a very positive attitude the proposal of the President of Kazakhstan.

Great. Thank you all. And for those of you we didn't get to, we will get you next time. Thank you. Thank you very much.