UN Calls on Indonesia to Help Renew Multilateral Cooperation
Indonesia should help reshape multilateral cooperation to meet increasingly complex global challenges, UN Resident Coordinator Gita Sabharwal said at a UN Day commemoration in Jakarta on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. She urged countries to work together while ensuring that cooperation produces concrete benefits for people.
A call for cooperation and reform
"Our task is to renew multilateralism so that it can respond to the evolving challenges of the world," Sabharwal said, as quoted by ANTARA.
Invoking the legacy of the 1955 Bandung Conference, she argued that Global South countries need a role in directing the international system, not just a chance to be heard within it. She also said the UN must adapt as Indonesia moves into a new stage of development with greater ambitions and capabilities.
The UN is already pursuing structural changes through the "UN 80 Initiative," launched by Secretary-General António Guterres. As described in March 2026, the effort seeks a more effective, integrated UN system with greater impact by improving operational efficiency, reviewing thousands of mandates and changing how the organization structures and conducts its peace, development, humanitarian and human rights work.
Drawing on Guterres' UN Day message, Sabharwal said progress on peace, development and human rights depends on countries' ability to act together. "We must choose dialogue over division, cooperation over confrontation, and solidarity over fear," she said.
Development support across Indonesia
Sabharwal pointed to UN-backed work in health, energy, industry, agriculture and land management as part of the organization's support for Indonesia's development priorities.
That work includes helping more than 9,000 community health centers nationwide improve maternal care and emergency obstetric services. UN support for sustainable forest and peatland management covers more than five million hectares and contributes to an estimated greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 8.1 million tons.
The UN also supports Indonesia's roadmap for 100 gigawatts of solar energy. Programs to improve resource efficiency and competitiveness involve more than 1,200 factories, while work on climate-smart agriculture and sustainable value chains benefits 3.6 million people.
Indonesia's diplomatic and peacekeeping role
Sabharwal cited Guterres' recent Jakarta visit and meeting with President Prabowo Subianto in Hambalang as signs of international recognition for Indonesia's longstanding commitment to multilateralism and growing influence on the global agenda. She pointed to the country's diplomacy, peace and UN peacekeeping contributions, climate action and sustainable development efforts.
During his October 17-19, 2026, visit, Guterres spent the night of October 18 at Prabowo's private retreat in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java. Their talks addressed multilateral reform, progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and global and regional issues, including the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Guterres also said farewell to Prabowo ahead of the end of his term as secretary-general in late 2026.
ANTARA News reported that the trip's schedule also included a visit to the Indonesian National Armed Forces' Peacekeeping Center to meet personnel preparing to deploy to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, known as MINUSCA. Guterres was also scheduled to speak about the future of multilateralism at Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In June 2026, Sabharwal described Indonesia as one of the 10 largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping missions. She also honored three Indonesian peacekeepers who had died while serving in South Lebanon earlier that year.
Commemorating 76 years of cooperation
The UN Day gathering took place at Atma Jaya Catholic University under the theme "Indonesia and the United Nations: Leadership for Our Common Future." It commemorated the UN's 81st anniversary and 76 years of cooperation between Indonesia and the organization.
Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized the event with the UN office in Indonesia, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, and the UN Global Compact Network Indonesia.
The program featured the launch of the "Letters to 2045" publication, a dialogue across generations and an exhibition showcasing Indonesia-UN cooperation through the work of 20 UN agencies.