Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday attended a meeting on sustainability, cooperation and peace, held under the auspices of the World Economic Forum in New York.
The meeting focused on current topics in international relations such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the importance of multilateralism and the preservation of the international legal order. “The war in Ukraine upended the world, causing energy and food insecurity as well as inflation. All of this comes on top of the climate crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, significantly increasing the risk of social unrest and political destabilisation,” Grlić Radman said in his address, stressing the need for unity and solidarity in these times of great uncertainty.
The minister also highlighted the importance of maintaining the international rule-based order and multilateralism as a response to pressing global issues. “As a member state of the EU and NATO, Croatia has full confidence in multilateralism. We believe it is the only instrument with the potential to achieve world peace, stability and balance. We also have to do all we can to preserve the United Nations, its Charter and its bodies. The core of international order is international law, including the UN Charter, as well as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the member states. We have to find peaceful solutions to conflicts in line with international law,” he underlined.
Speaking of the war in Ukraine, Grlić Radman said that it had brought into question the recovery of the global economy, threatening to spill over into regions that are sensitive in terms of security, such as Southeast Europe. “To prevent the conflict in Ukraine from spilling over, greater attention and stronger involvement by the international community in the region is needed. One must highlight the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where elections are approaching without the implementation of the necessary election reform that would secure a fair electoral process and stabilise the situation in the country,” he said.
Grlić Radman also held talks with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner, with whom he discussed the destabilising effects of the Russian aggression on Ukraine as well as the situation in Southeast Europe. In addition, the minister attended the opening of a summit on transforming education.
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