On Sep. 23 (Singapore time), Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan addressed the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

Vivian has been in New York since Sep. 17, 2023, attending several UNGA-related meetings with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs, Maliki Osman.

There he set out three principles that Singapore believed should help guide collective efforts to make the multilateral system more resilient and future-ready.

Perfect storm of global dysfunction

Vivian lamented the current global situation, pointing to several global and regional crises, some natural, such as earthquakes in Morocco and Turkey, as well as flooding in Libya that recently took thousands of lives.

He also highlighted that "beyond the devastation caused by pandemics and natural disasters", there are "man-made tragedies", such as the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the coup in Myanmar.

Vivian described the global situation as a "perfect storm" aggravated by political dysfunction in the form of polarised domestic politics, disillusionment with the global and multilateral order, and a lack of "strategic trust" between countries and superpowers.

"This dysfunction hobbles our ability to deal with planetary crises that go beyond the ability of any single superpower or even blocs of countries to overcome," he said. "In fact, all countries need to work together to build coherent and realistic multilateral solutions."

Vivian proposed three principles that he hoped would guide collective efforts to build a more resilient and "future-ready" multilateral system.

"There is no winner who can take it all"

Vivian highlighted the importance of countries reaffirming their commitment to building a multilateral system that reflects the "enlightened long-term interests as a global community".

However, he said the world is instead marked by "sharper geopolitical rivalry, " with free trade in retreat and fragmented supply chains.

"This unravels the gains that we have painstakingly made over many decades by competing and contributing to a common global technology stack," he said.

He cautioned against turning competition into a zero-sum game — whether on climate change, outer space or technological standards.

Vivian said it's important for countries worldwide to balance their national interests with the collective longer-term interests of the global community.

"The need for compromise and mutual understanding is a feature, not a bug of the multilateral system.

In the face of planetary challenges, there is no winner who can take it all."

"No one has a monopoly on culture and wisdom"

Vivian also spoke about the importance of accepting and respecting the diversity of experiences, systems, and ideas, which comes from the world's "rich tapestry of cultures, religions and societal norms".

Vivian said there was a need to recognize that there was no one-size-fits-all template for how countries should organise themselves.

He pointed out that the United Nations provided an indispensable platform for countries to share experiences and learn from one another.

World on the verge of "next stage" of AI

Vivian also talked about how the world is in the midst of an "AI (artificial intelligence) revolution", and countries must work together to prepare for the risks and distribute the benefits more fairly.

The world, he said, was on the verge of the "next stage", where AI agents could negotiate and transact with each other, as well as humans.

He cautioned the profound implications AI would have on society, politics, economics, and even the military, echoing the words of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres:

“Generative AI holds much promise, but it may also lead us across a Rubicon and into more danger than we can control.”

He pointed out that this is "especially so" in the world's "theatre of war and peace", where AI would "fundamentally disrupt" the "assumptions on military doctrine and strategic deterrence".

For example, he said, AI-enabled weapons can almost "instantaneously deploy and triggered", resulting in "dramatically" reduced decision times for leaders.

"There will be many occasions where humans may not even be in the firing loop.

But we will be on the firing line."

He believed this would heighten the risks of unintended conflict and conflict escalation.

Vivian said that during the Cold War, the sense of “mutually assured destruction” imposed mutual restraint on countries.

While the "spectre of nuclear escalation" has not disappeared, he highlights that AI has "exponentially" increased the risk of conflict.

He urges countries to start an inclusive global dialogue at the UN to "urgently consider" the oversight of AI systems and said Singapore welcomes the Secretary-General’s decision to convene a High-Level Advisory Body on AI.

Supporting the multilateral system

Vivian expressed Singapore's optimism that the UN and the multilateral system would be able to establish norms on fast emerging technologies.

He noted Singapore's efforts to aid in this area, such as Singapore's chairing of the UN Open-Ended Working Group on ICT Security, as well as its work with the Forum of Small States on Digital FOSS, a platform for the forum members to learn from and support each other in the area of digital technologies.

He also used the example of Singaporean Ambassador Rena Lee's presidency of the BBNJ Intergovernmental Conference, where the UN adopted a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of the marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Lee worked with all delegations to bring together an agreement, which Vivian had signed that week, and that Singapore would ratify as soon as possible, and he called on other UN members to do the same.

Vivian said the BBNJ agreement was an example of the "constructive spirit" that could be brought to the "global commons" to solve other policy issues, such as AI.

Many small states relied on the UN, and an effective multilateral system founded on and complied with the UN Charter and international law for survival and success.

Singapore would continue to work with all states to make "the UN stronger and future-ready" and looked forward to 2024's Summit on the Future as an opportunity to "reposition the United Nations and multilateral system for our future".

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Top image via Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs