Protectionism is not answer to today's problems: UN chief

United Nations: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said "the answer to today's problems is not protectionism, is not isolationism".

"I am a strong believer in multilateralism to address global problems. There is no way global problems can be addressed on a country by country basis. Global problems need to have global answers and global answers can only be implemented through multilateral frameworks." the UN chief made the remarks on Thursday when he was asked to comment on the trade conflict between China and the US, foreign media stated.

In an interview with Chinese reporters before his trip to China for the annual Boao Forum, Guterres said "the international framework that governs global trade is of extreme important with the World Trade Organization at its centre".

"I am a true believer in free trade," he said, adding that free trade is a very important contributor to global prosperity.

Improve things, not to reject globalization is the objective of Agenda 2030, and the objective of the WTO, Guterres said.

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"So the answer to today's problems is not protectionism, is not isolationism," he said, and the answer to today's problems is international cooperation and the Agenda 2030 can be a very important instrument for that.

"I am very happy that China has been totally committed to the Agenda 2030, not only at the Chinese level but also in cooperation with other countries, especially the developing world," Guterres said.

--IANS