UN chief urges action to revive lagging sustainable development goals

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged world leaders to take immediate and ambitious action to get the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track, warning that only 35 percent of the targets are currently being met.

Speaking at the opening of the ministerial segment of the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the UN chief highlighted negative phenomena worldwide like slowing economic growth, declining development aid, and rising military spending that threaten progress toward the 2030 Agenda.

But with sufficient urgency and determination, the SDGs could still be achieved, said Guterres, citing recent agreements on pandemic preparedness and ocean protection as proof that multilateralism remained capable of producing concrete outcomes.

Guterres stressed the necessity of reforming the global financial system to give developing countries greater voice and representation and also called for strengthened partnerships and the application of technological and digital innovations to drive progress.

General Assembly President Philemon Yang emphasized the importance of implementing the Sevilla Commitment and last year's Pact for the Future to reform global financial systems and scale up climate financing.

The week-long forum, which runs through July 23, focuses on critical areas including health, gender equality, and life below water, with 36 countries set to present their voluntary national reviews of SDG implementation progress.

The coast guard of east China's Fujian Province on Tuesday continued to organize law enforcement patrol in the waters off the Taiwan Island.

Zhu Anqing, spokesperson of China Coast Guard's East Sea Bureau, said the patrol focused on drills such as verification and identification, warning and expulsion, as well as visit, board, search and seizure, which tested the forces' regional control capabilities.