Distinguished Mr. President, Distinguished Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,. I wish to take this opportunity to pay a befitting tribute to your predecessor, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid, for his effective guidance and excellent leadership during the most challenging and uneasy times for the entire humanity.
Threats such as terrorism, extremism, drug and arms trafficking, cybercrime and other forms of cross-border organized crime have a tendency to increase exponentially.
We invite you to attend this important Conference. Climate change, natural disasters, food insecurity, ongoing impact of the pandemic, among other things, further add fuel to the fire. The international community needs tools that are fit for today's rapidly deteriorating environment.
Mechanisms that were established decades ago are now finding it difficult to cope with the emerging challenges. The world needs more robust multilateralism to tackle the toughest challenges, with the United Nations at the helm.
Therefore, Tajikistan supports the efforts of the U. Secretary-General aimed at comprehensive reform of the organization to strengthen its capacity to timely and adequately respond to the development needs and efficiently address contemporary threats. There is a historic opportunity to steer change in a direction beneficial for all humanity. It shouldn't be wasted. Allow me to address three additional topics which are very important for my delegation: implementation of our roadmap β Agenda, water, and climate change, as well as peace and security.
