Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders to gear up the global vaccination drive and synergize sustainable and inclusive recovery as the new variant of Covid-19, ‘Omicron’, posed new challenges.

“The spread of Omicron variant underlines this urgency,” he said in a video message on the occasion of the two-day World Peace Conference that began in Dhaka on Saturday, noting that cooperation and elevated political will is critical.

Now it is the second year that Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause immense sufferings with huge economic losses while reports suggest Omicron has been found in close to 40 countries.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the world should not panic about the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 but it should prepare.

Speaking at a conference on Friday, top WHO scientist Soumya Swaminathan said the situation now was very different to a year ago.

In his video message played during the inaugural session of the conference, the former UN chief highlighted the great importance of coming together to holistically advance peace through social inclusion during the period of great change.

Read:India reports first two Covid cases of Omicron variant

“I believe we’ve invaluable opportunities to change the world for the better, but to do this we need to work together through a driving commitment to peace, sustainability, inclusion, the power of partnership and multilateral cooperation,” Ban said.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic amplified the inequalities and the ongoing recovery will be prolonged. “We need to ensure equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccine and fight against vaccine inequity. This is the most pressing task ahead of us.”

Ban called upon all to prioritize peace, sustainability and inclusion for a brighter future for all and mentioned that climate change is rapidly worsening, great power tensions and regional conflicts are growing hindering global cooperation when it is badly needed.

At the same time, he said, new technologies are altering how they communicate, live and work. “Despite challenges, we have made progress in key areas.”

Ban said it is a fitting celebration not only for the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman but also for the values he pursued as a leader which include a commitment to democracy, peace, freedom, human rights and inclusion.

“To ensure that we recover swiftly, it is not enough to build back. We must build back cleaner, more sustainably and inclusively,” said the former UN chief.

He said facts over the matter remain that the global response has not only been too slow, it has been too unequal.

“This is the most pressing task ahead of us and one that can not only strengthen multilateral collaboration, but also set the stage for a more peaceful and cooperative post-pandemic international order," Ban said.

The former UN chief said it is also vital that world leaders make good on the promises they made to both the humanity and planet when they agreed to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement.

“The ongoing pandemic has made it painfully clear that we need a new direction for all of humanity and our planet,” he said.

Ban said the leaders have a moral and humanitarian obligation to fight against vaccine inequality and urgently need to come together in solidarity to vaccinate the world and end this pandemic. “We must remember, no one is safe, until everyone is safe.”

He laid emphasis on joint efforts to have a more peaceful and cooperative post pandemic international order with a new direction.

Read:US reports 1st case of omicron variant in returning traveler

President Abdul Hamid inaugurated the World Peace Conference as the chief guest with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, former President of Timor-Leste Nobel Laureates Jose Ramos-Horta, Politician and former Indian Minister for Civil Aviation, Railways, Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, former Foreign Minister for Egypt and former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation and former Malaysian Minister Dr Syed Hamid Albar and UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen also joined the event both virtually and in person.

On the occasion of 50 years of Independence and the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh celebrates five decades of its peace-centric diplomacy aimed at promoting sustainable development, fundamental rights and freedoms, and social justice and inclusion.

Bangladesh is hosting the World Peace Conference as a part of its celebrations of the Mujib Year, the birth centenary of Bangabandhu and the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh.

The idea of holding the conference is to let the world feel that peace has to be cherished in multifarious ways, perceiving that the invaluable contributions of the global pioneers are universal, and that peace will be sustainable only through social justice, equity and inclusiveness.