Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres Thursday painted a grim picture of the current global situation and said he will talk with European Union leaders on how to confront these challenges.

“This is indeed a crucial moment. We have a perfect storm in many developing countries. Combination of factors that led to a very dramatic situation,” he told reporters ahead of a meeting with leaders of the 27-member bloc in Brussels.

“Sustainable goals are moving backwards, more hunger, more poverty, less education, less health services in so many parts of the world. And it is clear that our international financial system is not fit for purpose to deal with such a huge challenge,” said the UN chief.

“We are close to the tipping point that will make 1.5 degrees impossible to achieve. We need dramatic action, and once again we count on leadership of the EU in that regard,” he mentioned.

Guterrres noted that Russia’s war in Ukraine “is causing tremendous suffering in the people of Ukraine but also having a huge impact globally,” adding that they will exchange views on how to solve these problems.

The UN chief said his visit to Brussels today demonstrates the “excellent cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations.” On his part, President of the European Council Charles Michel said the “EU and UN have a lot in common. We believe in the multilateral approach.” “We will address some of the challenges that we are facing,” he added.

During their 2-day summit today and tomorrow EU leaders will discuss the latest developments in relation to Russia’s war against Ukraine, economy, energy, external relations and other topics.

Source: Kuwait News Agency