UN chief’s New Year message issued in Hindi, Urdu

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued his 2026 New Year message in Hindi for the first time, urging global leaders to prioritise development over military spending. He warned of rising conflicts, humanitarian crises and soaring defence budgets, calling for peace and poverty reduction

United Nations: In a first, UN chief has issued his New Year’s message for the year 2026 in Hindi, among other languages, calling on world leaders today to invest in development, not destruction.

Antonio Guterres’ New Year message has been issued in 11 languages, including in the six official UN languages of Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish as well as Hindi and Urdu.

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His video message on the occasion has been issued with Hindi subtitles as well.

In an urgent appeal for the new year, Secretary-General Guterres called on world leaders today to get “priorities straight” and invest in development, not destruction.

“As we enter the new year, the world stands at a crossroads. Chaos and uncertainty surround us,” Guterres said in his message for 2026 Monday. “People everywhere are asking: Are leaders even listening? Are they ready to act?” He said the scale of human suffering in the world today is staggering – over one-quarter of humanity lives in areas affected by conflict.

More than 200 million people globally need humanitarian assistance, and nearly 120 million people have been forcibly displaced, fleeing war, crises, disasters or persecution.

“As we turn the page on a turbulent year, one fact speaks louder than words: global military spending has soared to $2.7 trillion, growing by almost 10 per cent,” he said.

Yet, as humanitarian crises around the world intensify, global military spending is projected to more than double – from $2.7 trillion in 2024 to an astonishing $6.6 trillion by 2035 – if current trends persist. Data shows that $2.7 trillion is thirteen times the amount of all global development aid combined and is equivalent to the entire Gross Domestic Product of the continent of Africa.

“On this New Year, let’s resolve to get our priorities straight. A safer world begins by investing more in fighting poverty and less in fighting wars. Peace must prevail,” Guterres said.

In 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and the UN Department of Global Communications establishing the ‘Hindi@UN’ Project, with the primary focus on broadcasting UN news in Hindi. The Government of India has pledged 1.5 million dollars per annum for a period of five years, over and above the cumulative contribution of 6.8 million dollars till date for the purpose.

Earlier this year, Permanent Representative of India to the UN Ambassador P Harish and Under Secretary General Department of Global Communications (DGC) Melissa Fleming signed an MoU, renewing the Hindi@UN Project for a period of five years, from April 1, 2025 to March 31 2030.

Harish had noted that the renewal of the MoU is a testimony to Government of India’s commitment to give greater prominence to Hindi, including in the United Nations as one of its non-official languages. Further, the renewal was a testimony to India’s strong and historic commitment to multilingualism, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN had said.