UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS – A significant new diplomatic coalition, the Group of Friends of Global Governance, was formally inaugurated on Tuesday at the United Nations in New York. The initiative, championed by China and guided by President Xi Jinping’s Global Governance Initiative, has drawn participation from 43 founding member states spanning diverse geographical regions, including Cuba, Iran, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Morocco, and Malaysia.
The launch event, presided over by China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Fu Cong, signals a concerted effort to revitalize multilateral cooperation. Ambassador Fu contextualized the group’s establishment against a backdrop of mounting challenges to the international rules-based order, describing the current era as a ‘new period of turbulence’ where multilateralism faces ‘severe strain.’
Central to the group’s mission is advancing the core tenets of the Global Governance Initiative, which is built upon five fundamental principles: sovereign equality, adherence to international rule of law, unwavering support for multilateralism, a people-centered development approach, and a focus on actionable results. The initiative, first proposed by President Xi at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in September 2025, has already garnered diplomatic support from over 140 countries and international organizations.
Diplomats from founding nations voiced strong backing for the initiative. Cuban Ambassador Ernesto Soberon Guzman praised it as a vital contribution to ‘the democratization of international relations’ and a tool to combat ‘widening inequalities’ and ‘unilateral measures.’ Similarly, Burundi’s Ambassador Zephyrin Maniratanga emphasized the coalition’s importance in tackling modern challenges that no nation can solve alone. Kyrgyzstan’s representative, Aida Kasymalieva, highlighted the platform’s practical utility for unifying the voices of developing and landlocked states and fostering capacity-building.
The group, described by Ambassador Fu as an ‘open and inclusive platform,’ released a joint statement committing to strengthen the UN-centric international system, uphold the UN Charter, and promote dialogue to achieve tangible outcomes. An invitation was extended to other like-minded UN member states to join the collective effort.