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Guterres Attends World Bank, IMF Spring Meetings in Washington

UN Secretary-General António Guterres traveled to Washington, D.C. on 15 April 2026 to participate in the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF. He joined World Bank President Ajay Banga at the closing of the Water Forward Initiative, delivering remarks on access to water as a basic human right. He subsequently helped launch the Borrowers Platform, a new forum for borrowing countries to share experience, build technical capacity, and speak collectively on debt architecture reform. The Secretary-General also met separately with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Rania A. al-Mashat of Egypt Appointed ESCWA Executive Secretary

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Rania A. al-Mashat of Egypt as the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). She succeeds Rola Dashti of Kuwait, who served in the role. Mourad Wahba will continue to serve as Acting Executive Secretary until Ms. al-Mashat assumes her position.

EU Council President Costa Welcomes UN Secretary-General Guterres, Stresses Multilateralism

European Council President António Costa met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres to emphasize the importance of multilateralism and the rules-based international order. Costa reaffirmed the European Union's strong support for the UN's work, particularly in challenging global times.

Guterres Calls for Peace Through Reconciliation at Normandy Forum

UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a keynote address at the Normandy for Peace Forum in Caen, France on April 9, 2026, calling on the international community to draw on Europe's post-war reconciliation experience to address current geopolitical upheavals, wars, inequality, and the climate crisis. The message emphasised that peace requires not merely the silence of guns but active pursuit of justice, solidarity, humanitarian access, and trust between peoples through multilateralism.