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J. Morales: Address to World Summit 2022, Session 6
Written by H.E. Jimmy Morales, President (2016-2020), Guatemala
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Address to World Summit
February 11-13, 2022
Note: World leaders were invited to World Summit 2022 but due to air travel restrictions, participated by submitting a video message. The following text is a transcription of the recording.
I thank UPF for its invitation to participate in the 2022 World Summit. I send my warmest greetings to Dr. Moon, founder of UPF, and my congratulations for your continued work for world peace, as well as for reconciliation and peace on the peninsula. My greetings also to the copresidents, His Excellency Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations.
At this time, international relations are tense and there are threats of conflicts between nations. At this time of the pandemic, instead of gradually disappearing, it reappears with new variants in different strains, with shadows of disease and news of death. At this time, climate change threatens to destroy the environment, the climate and nature. At this time, poverty and extreme poverty are growing disproportionately and making the gap of social inequality ever wider. At this time, the family, which has been the basis of society for millennia, suffers a great rupture and deterioration and seems to be crumbling. At this time, it is of utmost importance to talk about building a world of peace and, most importantly, to “act” in tune with what is being said. This coherence of speaking and acting and concordance can give us the desired fruit.
Much has already been said about making peace, so, to avoid redundancy, instead of talking it is better to act. Most important for world peace would be total, definitive peace in the Korean Peninsula. This is of great importance, because if we can achieve peace in the Korean Peninsula, there will be hope that peace can be established worldwide. The steps taken for peace in the Korean Peninsula can be imitated by other nations. This peace would entail family reunification, economic reunification, political reunification and sociocultural reunification. The goal would be for the 38th parallel to cease to be considered as a border of separation since the Cold War, and become the parallel of the unification of the Korean Peninsula, united by its greatness, by its people, by its history and for history.
The situation in the Korean Peninsula is complicated due to the geopolitical struggle between the superpowers, not only during the Cold War of the 20th century but even today in the 21st century. Therefore, we must work together to build trust, respect and to achieve cooperation and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. These can be pursued not only through traditional Track I diplomacy, but also through a wide range of Track 2 peace approaches that involve civil society, trade, humanitarian aid, interfaith dialogue, cultural exchange and tourism, among many other factors.
Therefore, I would like to make at least two recommendations: that both the adult and younger generations consider, when electing their authorities, that the candidates have within their platform a policy of unification as a vital component in their discourse in their daily lives, so that at the moment of assuming the position of power where decisions are made, their decisions are in favor of the unification of the peninsula. And, in addition to diplomatic efforts, it is necessary to involve all the sectors of society, for the benefit of the Korean people, the region and the world.
Thank you very much.
To go to the World Summit 2022 Schedule page, click here.