Trust, or rather the erosion of it, was at the centre of Prime Minister Robert Abela's address to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, as he argued that growing suspicion between governments, institutions and citizens was undermining the world's ability to confront its most serious challenges.

Taking the theme of this year's General Assembly - "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation" - as the starting point for his speech, Abela described the lack of trust as "the greatest challenge facing our world".

He drew a distinction between scepticism and suspicion, arguing that questioning those who exercise power is an essential part of democracy, while assuming that others are acting against the common good is corrosive.

"Suspicion," he said, was "poison to any democratic society".

For Abela, the problem extends well beyond domestic politics. Countries, too, are increasingly suspicious of one another, contributing to what he described as the "corrosion of the international order".

He warned against abandoning the existing international system without knowing what would replace it, arguing that despite its flaws it had helped more children escape hunger, allowed more families to live in peace and enabled more people to live longer lives than in previous eras.

His message was therefore not for less international cooperation, but more.

"Now, more than ever, is a moment for more co-operation, not less; more dialogue, not less; more trust, not less," he told delegates.

The argument was applied directly to two of the major conflicts closest to Malta: Ukraine and the Middle East.

On Ukraine, Abela reiterated Malta's condemnation of Russia's invasion and said Malta remained committed to a "just and lasting peace" that guarantees Ukraine's sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders.

But, he stressed, such an outcome could only emerge through a diplomatic process in which Ukrainians could have confidence.

That, he said, required a full and unconditional ceasefire and Ukraine's full participation in subsequent peace talks.

"The Ukrainian people will never have trust" in a settlement in which their government is forced to negotiate while fighting continues, he said.

Trust was also presented as central to the Gaza conflict, although Abela acknowledged that the requirements of the two sides are profoundly different.

Israelis, he said, need confidence that Hamas will be disarmed and have no future role in Gaza's governance or security structures, while Palestinians need to believe that there is a route towards a just peace.

But, he added, it was impossible to build trust while the humanitarian situation in Gaza remained so acute.

Malta continues to call for safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and, according to Abela, believes the Gaza Peace Plan offers the best route towards ending the conflict and making political progress.

He also opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians and called for an end to settlement expansion and violence by settlers in the West Bank.

A credible and reformed Palestinian Authority, with transparency, accountability, institutional effectiveness and democratic legitimacy, would also be necessary, he said.

The wider lesson, according to Abela, was stark: "No trust, equals no peace."

He extended the same argument to conflicts beyond Ukraine and Gaza, including Sudan, Myanmar and instability in the Sahel. The circumstances may differ, he said, but diminished trust reduces the chances of finding solutions.

The speech then moved from traditional geopolitics to one of the most significant transformations taking place beyond the battlefield: artificial intelligence.

Abela described the speed and power of AI as "mind-blowing", warning that governments were struggling to keep pace with a technological transformation that could be the biggest change of his generation.

The challenge, he said, was not simply developing the technology but building public confidence in it.

Governments, he acknowledged, do not have all the answers. What they do need is the willingness to act and a set of values capable of guiding that action.

No country, regardless of its size or power, could manage the technology revolution alone, he argued.

Malta therefore supports the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and wider UN efforts to strengthen international digital cooperation.

Abela also highlighted the increasingly blurred line between physical and digital security. Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, disinformation and attacks on the underwater cables connecting countries were no longer hypothetical threats, he said.

For an island state such as Malta, which depends heavily on connections with the outside world, he described these as "existential threats".

The response, he argued, must involve greater international cooperation and the development of digital and physical resilience. Security, he said, must now be understood as both physical and digital.

The same demand for trust extended to the United Nations itself.

Abela called for continued reform of the organisation and argued that restoring public confidence in international institutions depended on demonstrating that they could actually deliver results that improve people's lives.

Malta, he said, remained firmly committed to multilateralism and to the principles of the UN Charter, while recognising that the way those principles are implemented must continue to evolve.

The Prime Minister also placed climate change alongside conflict and uncontrolled technology among the greatest threats facing humanity, with particular consequences for island states such as Malta.

He pointed to the extreme weather experienced in Europe and argued that inaction would represent a betrayal of citizens who expect governments to confront difficult problems.

His appeal was for governments to stand against climate disinformation, vested interests and arguments that collective action is pointless unless everyone participates.

In making that case, Abela turned to a piece of Malta's own diplomatic history.

He recalled the 1967 speech by Malta's then Permanent Representative to the UN, Arvid Pardo, who called for the resources of the oceans beyond national borders to be treated as the "common heritage of mankind".

Pardo's vision eventually contributed to the development of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but it took 27 years to become reality.

Abela also recalled Malta's role in 1988, when it proposed a UN General Assembly resolution recognising climate change as a global problem requiring global solutions.

Abela acknowledged that "Dare to Dream" has become a familiar motivational phrase, but argued that dreams alone are insufficient to turn aspirations into lasting achievements.

"What it takes," he said, "is trust."

Trust that countries working together can accomplish more than they could separately. Trust that international institutions can be improved rather than abandoned. Trust that diplomacy can still resolve conflicts. Trust that technological progress can be governed rather than simply endured. And trust that collective action can address threats such as climate change.

Abela concluded with an appeal to world leaders to resist the temptation to retreat into suspicion and only engage with those who share their worldview.

Mutual suspicion, he warned, can lead to mutual destruction, while limiting dialogue to like-minded countries can make it harder to solve global problems.

His final message was deliberately simple: "Let us dare to trust."

And, he added, even those with whom countries disagree most must ultimately become part of the solution rather than prolong the pain.