U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked the 193-member world body for approving the pact and unlocking the door for nations to join forces to tackle challenges ranging from climate change and artificial intelligence to escalating conflicts and increasing inequality and poverty — and improve the lives of the world's more than 8 billion people.

The U.N. General Assembly has approved a blueprint to bring the world’s increasingly divided nations together to tackle 21st-century challenges

Our world is going through a time and turbulence and the period of transition, but we cannot wait for perfect conditions. We must take the first decisive steps towards updating and reforming international cooperation,