Addis Ababa, September 14, 2026 (FMC) — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said the world’s economic, demographic and geopolitical realities have fundamentally changed since 1945, calling for global institutions to reflect the realities of today.
Addressing leaders at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi during the segment on international organizations and BRICS institutions, Guterres said the countries represented at the summit reflect the changing global landscape and the world is increasingly moving toward a multipolar order.
“Today’s economic, demographic, and geopolitical realities are not those of 1945. And so, world governance institutions must reflect it,” Guterres said.
He said multipolarity can help bring greater balance and equity to global systems and institutions, but stressed that this requires reform of multilateral institutions, including the United Nations Security Council and the Bretton Woods system.
The UN chief also called for greater participation and influence by developing countries in international financial decision-making, saying the international financial architecture must be reformed to promote greater equity and justice and address historic injustices.
He urged multilateral development banks to become “bigger, better, and bolder,” with a new business model capable of mobilizing large-scale private investment and expanding concessional financing for developing countries.
Guterres further called for a development-oriented debt architecture and effective debt-relief mechanisms, linking financial reform to the ability of developing countries to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.
Turning to technology, he warned that artificial intelligence could compress decades of development into years, while its concentration among a small number of companies and countries could deepen existing inequalities.
“Unchecked, the AI divide will widen every other divide in income, in opportunity, in security, and in sovereignty,” he warned.
He called on BRICS countries to fully support international efforts to expand AI capacity in developing countries, including access to computing power, data and skills and stronger global dialogue on AI governance.
On climate action, Guterres urged faster movement from fossil fuels to renewable energy, greater investment in developing countries and stronger implementation of national climate commitments. He also called on developed countries to meet their climate-finance commitments, including $300 billion annually, increased adaptation finance and greater resources for loss and damage.
He said critical minerals must be responsibly managed, with producing countries and communities benefiting through greater value addition and job creation.
On peace and security, Guterres called for an end to conflicts from Gaza and the wider Middle East to Ukraine and Sudan, urging states to uphold the UN Charter and international law, including sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, peaceful settlement of disputes and international navigation rights and freedoms.
As the world moves toward an increasingly multipolar order, Guterres called on all countries to strengthen and safeguard a multilateral system capable of delivering for all, with the United Nations at its center.
His intervention at the BRICS summit thus placed institutional reform, developing-country influence, technology, climate action and peace within a broader argument that global governance must evolve alongside the world’s changing realities.