New York, February 19, 2025 – On Tuesday, Eng. Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, represented Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah at the United Nations Security Council’s high-level meeting on "Practicing Multilateralism, Reforming and Improving Global Governance." The meeting, which took place in New York, brought together global leaders to discuss the pressing need for reform and improvement in the international governance system, especially in light of the evolving challenges facing the world today.
In his speech, El-Khereiji emphasized the importance of strengthening the international order's capacity to maintain peace and security, as outlined in the United Nations Charter. He acknowledged the critical role of multilateralism in tackling the most pressing global challenges, particularly in ensuring effective responses to violent conflicts and crises that continue to plague various regions. According to the Vice Minister, the international community’s current challenges call for a reinvigorated and responsive multilateral system, spearheaded by the UN Security Council.
El-Khereiji further emphasized that any serious attempt at reforming global governance must strike a balance between effectiveness and fair representation. He stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes in the necessity of combining these two elements in efforts to strengthen multilateralism and make the international system more inclusive and efficient. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stresses the need to combine effectiveness and multilateralism on one hand, and fair representation on the other, in any serious endeavor to reform and complete global governance,” he remarked during the session.
In his address, the Vice Minister underscored the importance of intergovernmental negotiations through the United Nations General Assembly, especially as they pertain to the multilateral reform process outlined in Resolution 62/557. He also drew attention to the growing crisis of trust in the United Nations and its various bodies, particularly the Security Council, which has faced criticism over its ability to fulfill its mandate of maintaining international peace and security. El-Khereiji pointed out that many nations now question the Security Council’s capacity to resolve conflicts in a timely and effective manner, thereby necessitating an overhaul to better serve the global community.
The Vice Minister reiterated Saudi Arabia’s longstanding position on the need for a reformed Security Council that reflects the evolving geopolitical landscape and is more capable of addressing today’s complex and diverse challenges. “The Kingdom is fully prepared to cooperate with other member states to achieve this noble goal,” he stated, signaling Saudi Arabia’s willingness to collaborate with other nations to bring about meaningful change in global governance structures.
El-Khereiji’s participation at this high-level meeting reaffirms Saudi Arabia’s commitment to multilateralism and to strengthening the United Nations as an institution capable of adapting to the realities of the 21st century. Through its calls for reform, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks to ensure that the Security Council can effectively maintain peace, address global challenges, and meet the needs of an increasingly interconnected world.
