It was an honor to join the 2026 celebration of the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations at the Vienna International Centre 🇺🇳 🇦🇹
Having spent five memorable years as the UN 🇺🇳 Resident Coordinator in China 🇨🇳 , and having come to regard Beijing as a second home, this occasion held special personal meaning. It reminded me of the enduring wisdom of Chinese civilization and its belief that harmony does not require uniformity — 和而不同.
The message from the Foreign Minister of China 🇨🇳 H.E. Wang Yi was a timely reminder that dialogue, mutual respect, and understanding among civilizations are not merely diplomatic aspirations; they are essential foundations for peace and cooperation in an increasingly fragile world.🌎
I was particularly moved by the exhibition Blossoms 🌺 of Civilizations, Fragrance Shared Across the World, which beautifully captured a simple but powerful truth: our diversity is not a source of division, but one of humanity’s greatest strengths.
For Global Neighbours, this gathering reflected the very purpose of our work — building meaningful bridges between Europe, Asia, and the wider international community through dialogue, trust, and human connection.
My sincere thanks 🙏 to H.E. Ambassador Li Song, the Permanent Mission of China 🇨🇳 to the UN 🇺🇳 in Vienna, and the United Nations 🇺🇳 Office at Vienna for hosting such a thoughtful and inspiring event.
I look forward to deepening our engagement and exploring new opportunities for partnership and shared purpose in the years ahead.
Press release ⬇️
https://t.co/BwEGpk7rLL
Some weeks leave a mark on your soul.
Bellagio 🇮🇹 was one of them.
From June 1 to 5, twenty leaders from across the world 🌎 gathered at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center on Lake Como for something I will carry with me for a long time.
Under the inspired leadership of Prof. Poman Lo — founder of One Earth Initiative and one of the most quietly tenacious people I know — and co-convened with the remarkable Deepali Khanna, Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific at the Rockefeller Foundation, we spent five days asking a question that felt both necessary and daunting:
What kind of institution does Asia — and the world — actually need right now?
We weren’t there to make speeches. We were there to build something. And that meant sitting with real disagreements, naming tensions rather than smoothing them over, running pre-mortems on how the One Earth Institute might fail before it even begins — so that it doesn’t. That is what serious institution-building looks like.
What emerged from those conversations — along the lake, over long dinners, on garden walks and in working sessions — was the architecture of the One Earth Institute, to be anchored at @hkust 🇭🇰 🇨🇳.
Not another talking shop. A living centre — built to convene, connect, and catalyse — to advance progress at a moment when our world 🌍 is battered by interlocking crises that no single institution, country, or sector can navigate alone.
The three pillars we shaped together — AI for Good, Financing the Transition, and Climate Resilience and Health — are not abstract themes. They are the terrain where leadership grounded in empathy, solidarity, and courage can actually make a difference.
What I will remember most is not the frameworks or the flipcharts. It is the people in that room. Their generosity. Their willingness to stay with difficulty rather than skip to answers. The laughter over dinner. The quiet conversations on the terrace as the sun set over Como.
This is how institutions worth building begin — not with a press release, but with people who trust each other enough to dream out loud.
My deepest gratitude to Poman for the privilege of this partnership. To Deepali for the warmth and wisdom she brought to every moment. And to every member of our Bellagio family — you have given this initiative something no document can capture: belief.
Next stop: Hong Kong. October. The journey is just beginning. 🌏
#OneEarth #OneEarthInstitute #Leadership #Asia #Bellagio #HKUST #Multilateralism #ClimateAction #AIforGood
Inspiring to see Yoga serving as a bridge between wellness, community service, and people-to-people connections. The engagement of volunteers, students, blood donors, athletes, and families highlights Yoga’s enduring relevance as a shared global heritage that brings people together across cultures.
Congratulations 👍🏽 to Consul General Pratik Mathur and the entire team for this remarkable outreach effort. Wishing all participants a successful and impactful International Day of Yoga 2026.
Join our WhatsApp community to gain exclusive, behind-the-scenes content on all things #LionsCon26! From receiving daily updates to getting a look at all of the hottest attractions across Hong Kong, you won't want to miss out. 🦁🔥
Hit the link below for full access:
https://t.co/ApyKXHx3jy
Change doesn’t happen overnight ⚡️ Lasting impact is built through consistent action.
As a network of over 1 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers, uniting for good means taking care of our home planet on #EarthDay and beyond 🌏
I was honored to address an exceptional cohort of healthcare executives, clinicians, and professors from China’s healthcare system 🇨🇳 this week. Hosted by @hkust , this 3-month Global 🌎 Public Health Talent Program is a vital step in preparing China’s future leaders for the international stage.
Our dialogue centered on the "Triple Transition" facing China: the rise of chronic diseases, a rapidly aging demographic, and the urgent need to pivot from a culture of treatment to a ‘culture of prevention.’ Key reflections from our session:
1. The Power of Health Diplomacy: In an increasingly fragmented and polarized world, public health remains a universal language. It is one of the few remaining bridges that can foster global peace and harmony.
2. The Centrality of the WHO 🇺🇳: As we navigate global health security, a strong, effective, and well-supported World Health Organization (WHO) is indispensable. Multi-lateralism is not an option; it is a necessity for tackling the NCD (Non-Communicable Disease) burden that threatens both China and the global economy.
3. China’s Global Role: With its vast experience in poverty alleviation and health infrastructure, China has a unique opportunity to lead through the "Health Silk Road" and South-South cooperation, sharing lessons that can transform health outcomes across developing nations.
4. A Culture of Prevention: We discussed how individual resilience—body, mind, and spirit—must become the bedrock of public policy. To lead globally, we must first model health locally.
Thank you 🙏 to the National Health Commission of China 🇨🇳. The Hong Kong Jockey Club and HKUST for convening this meaningful dialogue. The future of global health depends on the leadership and integrity of the professionals in this room.
Together, let us move toward a "One Earth" 🌍 vision where health is recognized as the ultimate global public good.
#GlobalHealth #HealthDiplomacy #China #WHO #PublicHealth #OneEarth #NHC #HKUST #Leadership #PreventionFirst #Multilateralism #GlobalNeighbours
Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani is one of the great strategic minds of our era — his clarity on the Asian Century is as compelling and profound today as ever.
What makes this post particularly meaningful to me is that I first met our Chairwoman Jovanka Porsche at the Ambassador’s home in Singapore 🇸🇬, over dinner. Little did I know then that the unseen hand of destiny would one day bring me to Global Neighbours as CEO.
And so it has. Today, I marked my first day in our magnificent offices in Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹 — a city that has long been a crossroads of civilisations, a home to diplomacy, and a place where ideas about a better world 🌎 have always found room to breathe. A fitting home for this work.
From an Officer in a Special Forces unit in India 🇮🇳 to coordinating 26 UN 🇺🇳 agencies in Beijing 🇨🇳 — from holding the hands of child soldiers in the villages of South Sudan 🇸🇸 to navigating the halls of the United Nations 🇺🇳 —— the journey has been long, humbling, and full of purpose. Today feels like a new chapter, shaped by everything that came before it.
That evening in Singapore planted a seed. Seeing it now bear fruit — at the Boao Forum for Asia 🇨🇳, in conversations on Eurasian cooperation, in the push to ensure Asian voices are genuinely heard in Europe — is deeply gratifying.
Global Neighbours exists to build the bridges the world urgently needs. And 'Tracks to the Future' is exactly the kind of bridge the world 🌎 needs right now.
#GlobalNeighbours #BFA2026 #AsiaCentury #Vienna #NewBeginnings #Diplomacy #Leadership @mahbubani_k
On March 1, 2026, as I stepped away from my role as the United Nations 🇺🇳 Resident Coordinator to China 🇨🇳 , I did more than conclude a five-year term; I closed the book on a career spanning nearly three decades of public service.
To look back across thirty years is to see a tapestry woven with the threads of many nations, many crises, and many triumphs.
Yet, as I stand at this final horizon, I can say with absolute clarity: my time in China 🇨🇳 has been the jewel in the crown of my professional life.
#StrengtheningLocalCooperation#DiasporaEngagement#CulturalBridges 🇮🇳🤝🌍
CG @PratikMathur1 welcomed Mr. Ding Qijie, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of #Shaoxing Municipal People’s Government, in the new Chancery premises.
➡️ The meeting spotlighted the vibrant 1,500-strong Indian diaspora in Shaoxing, whose remarkable contributions to the textile trade, local economy, cultural exchanges, and community initiatives continue to serve as a vital bridge between the two countries. 🌉
➡️ Consul General underlined how this dynamic community further strengthens connectivity through growing direct flights, and gives significant impetus to our 3Ts objective of boosting #Trade, #Technology and #Tourism. ✈️📈
➡️ Both sides held productive discussions on consular & visa cooperation, and enhancing friendly people-to-people interactions between the fast growing region and India.🙏🏽
Jai Hind Jai Bharat 🇮🇳
@IndianDiplomacy@indiandiplomats@diaspora_india@EOIBeijing
My last day of work with the United Nations 🇺🇳 is March 01, 2026. Out of all my experience, I want to share just one story. It concerns my work in South Sudan 🇸🇸 25 years ago, and it gets at both the essence of my career and the mission of the United Nations.
But to tell you that story, I have to go further back in time to my service in the Indian Army.
The UN's 80th anniversary and beyond, every conflict offers us another chance to put children’s lives above political calculations. The children cannot wait. And they should not have to.
https://t.co/072myf2RkG
As I transition from three decades of service within the United Nations 🇺🇳 today, I find myself reflecting on the thread that connects my journey from the Army to the UN 🇺🇳 in China: 🇨🇳 the urgent need to protect human dignity.
It was a privilege to be honored as an "Impact Legend" at the 2025 Asia X Change Summit in Jakarta 🇮🇩 by the Rockefeller Foundation. The Foundation has been a beacon of collaborative progress for over a century, and it has been an honor to partner with them since my time in Kenya 🇰🇪.
In these fractured times, the Foundation’s call for "unity of purpose" is more critical than ever.
We cannot solve global 🌎 challenges in isolation; we must act as one.
My sincere thanks 🙏 to two inspiring, compassionate and brilliant leaders Ms Elizabeth Yee @eyee5 & @deepalikhanna@RockefellerFdn for their friendship and support to me throughout the years from Kenya 🇰🇪 to China 🇨🇳.
#AsiaImpactSummit #RockefellerFoundation #ImpactLegend #GlobalGoals #Humanity #Multilateralism #Jakarta
https://t.co/MOvSDf3HXb
I began my career with the United Nations 🇺🇳 in 1997, but my commitment to peace was shaped earlier, during a decade of military service 🇮🇳 . That period instilled discipline, duty and loyalty and also exposed me, at close range, to the human cost of violence. Over time, a growing unease took hold: the realisation that force alone cannot address the underlying drivers of conflict. That recognition ultimately led me to seek a different path.
https://t.co/nH3K4nq4tN
I began my career with the United Nations 🇺🇳 in 1997, but my commitment to peace was shaped earlier, during a decade of military service 🇮🇳 . That period instilled discipline, duty and loyalty and also exposed me, at close range, to the human cost of violence. Over time, a growing unease took hold: the realisation that force alone cannot address the underlying drivers of conflict. That recognition ultimately led me to seek a different path.
https://t.co/nH3K4nq4tN
#India is stepping up its global AI ambitions. The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 will be held in New Delhi from February 14th to 16th, featuring over 300 exhibitors from more than 30 countries, focused on responsible and deployable #AI.
According to Stanford University’s Global AI Vibrancy rankings, India now ranks third worldwide in AI competitiveness, behind only the United States and China. Through the IndiaAI Mission, the country has already deployed tens of thousands of high-end GPUs, built a national dataset platform with thousands of datasets, and launched homegrown multilingual AI models designed for public services, education and governance.
Honoured to be with Lord Rami Ranger Parliamentarian Conservative Party , Chairman Sunmarc Group UK at House Of Lords on the sidelines of IDWWCB 2026 @EyeFoundAmerica@GoutamiEye@Rotary@lionsclubs