World needs more lnclusive global governance system: Masood Khan
Islamabad: The world needs a more inclusive, equitable and effective system of global governance that reflects emerging geopolitical realities and gives the Global South a meaningful voice, said Sardar Masood Khan, former Ambassador of Pakistan to the US, China and the UN, and former President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a media interview on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Khan said the post-World War II international order was facing unprecedented challenges due to growing geopolitical tensions, bloc politics, unilateralism and unresolved conflicts.
He noted that China’s Global Governance Initiative (GGI) offered a vision of an integrated, polycentric and multilateral system. The initiative, he said, should not be viewed as an attempt to replace the United Nations, but as an effort to make the multilateral system more responsive to contemporary realities.
Khan stressed that the Global South, representing the majority of the world’s population, demanded greater representation and equity in international decision-making. “The world is polycentric,” he said, adding that Islamic, Chinese and other civilisations must also be recognised as contributors to global norms.
Highlighting China’s role, he cited the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as examples of cooperation creating infrastructure, jobs and investment. He said CPEC had now shifted focus to livelihoods, agriculture and people-centred development.
On UN reform, Khan said comprehensive institutional change could take years, but incremental steps could build momentum. Reform should cover the Security Council and other major UN bodies, he added, stressing sovereign equality, development and security as key elements of a new governance ecosystem.
