Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Wednesday called for the renewal of commitment to multilateralism to tackle global challenges.

The theme of this year's General Debate of the UN General Assembly is a call for a renewal of the vision for an integrated and cooperative world, where nations express themselves in an open manner and act in a coordinated way in promoting sustainable and inclusive development, taking the 2030 Agenda as their banner, Nyusi told the assembly. 

The theme of this year's General Debate is "The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism -- confronting COVID-19 through effective multilateral action."

Multilateral cooperation remains the best approach to addressing the challenges and mitigating the suffering of the people who are the main reason for the creation of the United Nations, he said in a pre-recorded statement.

"Multilateralism within the United Nations is also key if we take into account that the world economy, especially that of developing countries, has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its restoration requires global, integrated and concerted interventions."

Nationalism and isolationism are a prescription for failure to respond to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases of an unpredictable nature, he said. Other global phenomena and challenges, including terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity, public health, research and development, trade and industrialization, also require UN-led multilateral intervention, he said. 

"In the global village in which we live, national and international issues are increasingly less discernible. The transnational nature and interconnection of these phenomena require leadership that recognizes that, in today's world, our interventions must take into account the intrinsic relationship between the national, regional and global citizens."

International security and peace, the preservation and respect for human rights and the promotion of sustainable development only find fertile ground to flourish in the common approach and collective action of all stakeholders in the world, he said.

"Let us, therefore, revisit our global commitment to the consolidation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, keeping in mind the main recipients of these efforts, namely 'We The Peoples!'"