Speaking at Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy, the UN secretary-general praised the country’s humanitarian and diplomatic contributions while calling for financial reforms and inclusive artificial intelligence governance.
ISLAMABAD (FNN) — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres praised Pakistan’s contributions to peacekeeping, refugee protection and climate action during an Oct. 7 address in Islamabad, urging world leaders to strengthen cooperation as conflicts, inequality and technological change reshape international affairs.
Speaking at the Foreign Service Academy, Guterres highlighted Pakistan’s history of hosting Afghan refugees, its service in UN peacekeeping operations and its efforts to promote dialogue between the United States and Iran, according to a UN release of his remarks.
He identified four major challenges facing international cooperation: peace and security, inequality, climate change and artificial intelligence.
“Today, humanity faces challenges on a scale no nation can solve by itself,” Guterres said.
Pakistan’s peacekeeping and humanitarian contributions
Guterres described Pakistan as a country whose generosity and resilience he had witnessed during his service as UN high commissioner for refugees and secretary-general.
He recalled Pakistani families sharing their homes and limited resources with Afghan refugees, as well as communities supporting people displaced by terrorism.
Pakistani peacekeepers, he said, have served for generations in dangerous environments, protecting civilians and supporting fragile peace processes.
He also praised Pakistan’s role on the UN Security Council and its diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions between Washington and Tehran.
“I commend Pakistan’s efforts to help forge peace between the United States and Iran,” he said.
Climate funding and the legacy of the 2022 floods
Recalling his visit during Pakistan’s devastating 2022 floods, Guterres said the disaster illustrated the unequal burden of climate change.
Pakistan contributes around 1% of global emissions but faces severe climate risks, he said. Millions of people experienced catastrophic losses from a crisis they did little to create.
He described meeting residents who abandoned their possessions to rescue neighbors, children, older adults and people with disabilities.
“In moments of crisis, saving ourselves begins with helping each other,” Guterres said.
He credited Pakistan’s leadership of the Group of 77 and China with helping secure the Loss and Damage Fund, which is intended to assist developing countries facing climate-related losses.
However, he said less than $500 million had been transferred to the fund’s trust fund nearly four years later, compared with an annual global climate disaster bill of about $200 billion.
“A crisis costing billions cannot be answered with funding counted in the millions,” he said.
Guterres also highlighted Pakistan’s solar energy expansion, calling for greater support for renewable energy, resilient infrastructure and climate adaptation.
Debt, development and financial reform
Guterres warned that rising debt burdens and inadequate development financing are limiting opportunities in developing countries.
He called for changes to the international financial system to give those countries greater representation and access to financing for sustainable growth.
“Developing countries should not have to choose between servicing debt and investing in their future,” he said.
Pakistan’s young, entrepreneurial population offers substantial potential, he said, but realizing it requires economic opportunity, respect for human rights, the rule of law and protection of civic space.
Artificial intelligence: Opportunity and risk
Guterres said artificial intelligence could improve health care, education, agriculture and disaster preparedness.
He also warned that AI could deepen inequality, concentrate power, spread disinformation and disrupt employment.
Developing countries must help shape the rules and institutions governing the technology, he said, rather than serve only as consumers of systems developed elsewhere.
“The governance of AI must reflect the interests of all humanity,” Guterres said.
He identified the United Nations as a forum where every country can participate in shaping that future.
Conflict, Gaza and international cooperation
Marking the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Guterres condemned the attacks and said nothing justified the scale of death and destruction that followed for Palestinians in Gaza.
He warned of the threat of ethnic cleansing in the occupied Palestinian territory and called for full implementation of the Gaza peace plan and preservation of a two-state solution.
More broadly, he said a world with multiple centers of power needs effective international institutions to prevent fragmentation and instability.
He called for a UN-centered system that better reflects today’s distribution of countries, economies and influence.
A closing message of dialogue and mutual respect
Guterres concluded by describing a painting by Pakistani artist Abdur Rahman Chughtai displayed between his personal office and conference room.
The artwork, a gift from Pakistan to the United Nations more than 60 years ago, depicts Mughal Emperor Jehangir and his wife, Nur Jehan.
He said it symbolizes Pakistan’s cultural heritage and the value of wisdom, listening and exchange among civilizations.
“Dialogue, understanding, cooperation — that is the spirit reflected in that magnificent Pakistani painting,” Guterres said.
Source attribution: This article is based on the United Nations release of Secretary-General António Guterres’ Oct. 7, 2026, address to the Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad. All direct quotations are attributed to Guterres.
