by Martina Fuchs
BLED, Slovenia, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The world needs to urgently address the current polycrisis and come together to tackle common challenges, Peter Grk, secretary general of the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), told Xinhua on Monday, and urged a reform of the multilateral system and cooperation with China.
The 18th edition of the two-day event, titled "Solidarity for Global Security", opened on Monday in Slovenia's resort town of Bled. Since its launch in 2006, the annual event has evolved into a leading international conference in Central and South-Eastern Europe.
"There are a lot of crises in the international framework, which this current multilateral setup is not effectively addressing," Grk said.
"In this context, the Bled Strategic Forum this year will discuss and give suggestions on the multilateral global system and how it can be improved in order to efficiently address these crises, which are globally important," he said.
Grk also highlighted China's role in contributing to global security: "We are going to cooperate with all the members of the (UN) Security Council. China is one of the global leaders."
"China is a country that plays an important role in the international community. Only with cooperation and trying to find issues of common interest can we succeed in actually addressing them efficiently," he said.
"We look forward to discussing with China all the topics that will be tackled here in Bled: climate change, energy security, food security, and of course the future of the multilateral system," he said.
Asked about the BSF's top priorities in 2024, Grk said that "the quest for sustainability and the efficient fight against climate change" would "definitely" be on the table. ■
