The President of the UN General Assembly told foreign ministers gathered in New York on Thursday that forecasts predicting the death of effective diplomacy are premature.

'Your strong engagement during our deliberations today reaffirms that multilateralism is neither dead nor obsolete,' said Dennis Francis in his opening remarks to a preparatory meeting for next year's Summit of the Future. Scheduled for September 2024, it is billed as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate multilateralism, address gaps in global governance, and reaffirm existing commitments, including to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Charter.