Mr. President,

Distinguished Heads of State and Government,

Mr. Secretary General,

Esteemed Delegates,

I greet you with respect on behalf of myself and my Nation.
I would like to thank Mr. Muhammed Bande for his successful work at the United
Nations during this difficult period.
I also wholeheartedly congratulate my former colleague, Ambassador Volkan
Bozkır, who has taken over the Presidency of the General Assembly.
Ambassador Bozkır’s election to this post with the support of the overwhelming
majority of countries is a sign of his personal qualities as an experienced diplomat
and politician, as well as confidence in Türkiye.
As the first Turkish citizen to undertake the highest-ranking position within the
United Nations system, I believe that Ambassador Bozkır will be the voice and
conscience of the international community.
I have no doubts that he will carry out his duty in a fair and transparent manner.
I wish Mr. Bozkır every success in his duty, which he assumes on such a
meaningful date as the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.
I think holding the General Assembly under the theme of “Fight against Covid19 and Multilateralism” is a right decision.
As Türkiye, we stand by our commitments and we are determined to maintain our
support in the fight against Covid-19.

The pandemic caught the world at a time when it was having difficulties in coping
with various challenges.
Globalization, rules-based international system and multilateralism, which were
already the subject of discussions, are now even more questioned under the impact
of the pandemic.
When we look at the picture in front of us, we need to accurately and sincerely
evaluate the full and empty parts of the glass.
In the empty part of the glass, there is the need of a reform for multilateral
organizations, in particular the United Nations.
We have seen how ineffective the existing global mechanisms have been during
this crisis.
This was so much true that it took weeks, even months, for the Security Council,
the most fundamental decision-making body of the United Nations, to include the
pandemic on its agenda.
At the beginning of the pandemic, a scene emerged where countries were left on
their own.
Thus, we have once again seen the rightfulness of the “The World is bigger than
Five” thesis, which I have been advocating for years from this rostrum.
The fate of humanity cannot be left at the mercy of a limited number of countries.
In order to prevent the loss of reputation of international organizations, we must
first review our mentality, institutions and rules.
Effective multilateralism requires effective multilateral institutions.
We must rapidly implement comprehensive and meaningful reforms, starting with
the restructuring of the Security Council.
We must provide the Council with a more effective, democratic, transparent and
accountable structure and functioning.
Likewise, we should also strengthen the General Assembly, which reflects the
common conscience of the international community.
Looking at the full part of the glass, the United Nations preserves its potential to
be the turning point in humanity’s quest for peace, justice and prosperity.
Considering that we have not yet overcome the pandemic crisis, we should try to
use the institutions and mechanisms we have for multilateral cooperation in the
most effective way.
Where problems are global, local solutions can only save the day.
International solidarity is essential for long-term solutions.

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