Over the next few days, the eyes of the world will be looking to New York: a place which like no other brings people from all continents together and which for many in the world signifies hope for a life in freedom. It is a place that, even in the face of severe shocks such as the terrorist attacks 25 years ago, symbolises cohesion and the power of renewal. The place that is home to the United Nations.

The countries of the world established the UN more than 80 years ago to give humanity a place from which to work for a peaceful international order after the horrors of World War Two. The prospect of lasting co-existence free from conflict has today had to yield to a mode of permanent escalation. This is not something we can and want to get used to. We have a duty to pool our strengths to turn this around. The countless talks this week provide one of the few opportunities to do so. Germany will play its part and work to overcome the distressing absence of communication between the conflicting parties – both in Europe and in the Middle East.

After all, as the world gathers in New York over the coming days, it has to do more than just take stock of all the crises, conflicts and wars. All those bearing political responsibility should be ready to engage and struggle for even the smallest of steps towards a solution.

Especially where our own interests are at particular risk, we do not want to wane in our efforts. Putin’s war with attacks on civilian infrastructure that are claiming more and more lives means that the people of Ukraine are fearful as the next winter approaches – while he leads his own country into the economic abyss with thousands upon thousands of fatalities. Russia needs to be made to realise that it is time to switch course to one of serious negotiations. In the meantime, we want to strengthen Ukraine to make sure that, with the support it is getting from the international community, it has the greater staying power. At the same time, Russia is threatening EU and NATO member states more and more openly, violating airspace, destroying undersea cables, staging hybrid attacks. Together with our partners we will therefore coordinate how to better protect our critical undersea infrastructure and how to proceed more effectively against the ailing tankers of Russia’s shadow fleet off our coasts.

We will also discuss how the international community can together take on more responsibility for maritime security. After all, at the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, Iran and its militias have held the vital arteries of free trade in a stranglehold for months. Energy supplies, fertiliser and aid are becoming unaffordable or are just not getting to where they are so urgently needed. We are feeling the impact in Germany and Europe – as are, even more dramatically, many countries in the Global South where increasing prices and failed harvests are putting livelihoods on the line.

The UN General Debate provides a unique opportunity for the broader international community to consult on these and other fundamental challenges. I am therefore meeting with our closest G7 partners and will use the opportunity to deepen partnerships all over the world. We will talk to the small island states about how we can become more resilient in the face of the threat posed by climate change. And to Latin American states about how we can intensify our economic cooperation .

At the end of the day, to make sure we will have a stable international order in the future, we need a United Nations that does not first and foremost administer the crises and conflicts of our time but prepares the ground for solutions; as the active arm of the international community mediating, for example, in the war in Sudan, helping end the blockade on trade routes or working to address human rights violations. And the UN needs to shoulder responsibility for the questions of our time, for example, how we can together deal with the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence.

It is also clear that today, the United Nations itself needs the power of renewal and reform, the very power that led to its founding. That is the defining task to be performed by the new UN Secretary-General. As one of UN’s greatest supporters, Germany stands ready to help chart the way forward.