UN secretary-general António Guterres has urged world leaders to “get serious and deliver” as they begin arriving in New York for the high-level week of the 80th General Assembly.

Mr Guterres gave the charge while speaking at a press conference at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

The UN chief made a blunt appeal, saying, “The United Nations is the place. Next week is the time. Leaders must get serious – and deliver.”

He warned that global divisions, conflicts, and crises have left the very principle of international cooperation to its most fragile point in decades.

“Some call it the World Cup of diplomacy,” Mr Guterres said. “This cannot be about scoring points – it must be about solving problems. There is too much at stake.”

He described a world adrift in “turbulent, uncharted waters”, listing widening geopolitical divides, escalating conflicts, climate change, runaway technologies, and rising inequalities as challenges that demand urgent solutions.

“International cooperation is straining under pressures unseen in our lifetimes,” Mr Guterres said.

Nearly 150 heads of state and government are expected to attend the event in New York next week, alongside thousands of officials and diplomats.

Mr Guterres said he would personally hold more than 150 bilateral meetings, pressing leaders “to speak directly with each other, to bridge divides, to reduce risks, to find solutions”.

The secretary-general highlighted peace, climate, responsible innovation, gender equality, development financing, and UN reform as central themes of the week. He called for urgent steps to end wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and beyond, and reiterated the need for “a just, lasting peace in the Middle East based on a two-State solution”.

On climate, he urged countries to bring forward stronger national plans to keep global warming below the 1.5°C threshold envisioned in the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, which seems increasingly out of reach.

He also announced the launch of a Global Dialogue on AI Governance to ensure technology develops with benefits to humanity “at the centre”.

The week will also feature a first-ever biennial summit bringing together international financial institutions and world leaders to advance commitments on financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are seriously off track.

The week will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the landmark Beijing Conference on Gender Equality.

“The list is long because the needs are great,” Mr Guterres said, adding that the current global crises demand not “posturing and promises” but leadership that is committed to making concrete progress.

(NAN)