GEORGE TOWN: Former Indonesian president Joko Widodo is urging the United Nations (UN) to change and redefine its systems, processes and strategies to remain relevant in addressing increasingly complex global challenges.
Joko, popularly known as Jokowi, said the world needed a stronger global institution, stronger global mediation and stronger global diplomacy to maintain peace.
"The UN must change and redefine the system, the process and the strategy to get a better world and to be more relevant.
"As we need a stronger global institution, stronger global mediation and stronger global diplomacy to keep peace, now we must move beyond the old edition of the UN and build a new edition, the new United Nations 2.0," he said in his keynote address at the Penang Peace Dialogue here on Sunday (Sept 6).
He noted that conflicts today were interconnected, with their consequences crossing borders, while lasting prosperity could only be achieved when countries chose peace over conflict, cooperation over competition and collaboration over division.
"There is one important thing we must remember: no country can succeed alone, no nation can prosper in conflict and no peace can be built without trust," he said.
On leadership, Jokowi said true leadership in an era of populism required balance, competence and integrity, as well as patience, pragmatism, courage and empathy.
He said good leadership built trust, particularly when leaders remained connected to the people they served and understood not only policies but also their realities, lives and aspirations.
Jokowi also highlighted South-East Asia as an important model of collaboration among civilisations in a multi-polar world, saying that diversity was not a weakness but a strength.
He said differences should not become barriers but instead serve as bridges towards understanding, cooperation and shared progress, while developed countries should shoulder greater responsibility in building trust, strengthening cooperation and helping to create a more peaceful world.
Themed 'Bridging Civilisations in a Multipolar World', the two-day Penang Peace Dialogue is the centrepiece of the Commonwealth of World Chinatowns (CWC) Conference Series, bringing together about 200 delegates for discussions on peace, cooperation and relations among civilisations in an increasingly multipolar world. – Bernama
