U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “a world built on interdependence.”

He said this in his final speech to the yearly meeting of world leaders on Tuesday.

He said the world’s divisions are growing because of wars, rising temperatures and artificial intelligence.

He urged leaders not to let the future move toward division, deal-making and mistrust.

Guterres leaves office at the end of this year.

This gave his message more urgency.

He also told superpowers that their power “isn’t so super.”

He said military power alone cannot secure peace.

About an hour later, U.S. President Donald Trump offered a different view of power.

He said he had used strength to make America the most powerful country in the world.

Trump said the U.N. has “great potential.”

But he criticized it for pushing what he called a far-left globalist agenda.

He also criticized bodies such as the International Criminal Court.

The U.S. does not belong to this court.

The meeting will focus on wars in Iran, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Myanmar.

It will also look at whether leaders can end them.

It will also address global warming, growing inequality and economic shocks.

These shocks come from blocked shipping routes and supply chains.

The future of the U.N. itself is on the agenda.

This includes reform of the Security Council.

Guterres’ second five-year term ends Dec. 31.

No clear successor has emerged.

He vowed to “never, ever give up” on the values the U.N. stands for.

He left the rostrum to a long standing ovation.

About 130 heads of state and government are expected to speak.

Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke Tuesday.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian speak Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the assembly Thursday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not attend because the U.S. refused him a visa.

But he will speak by video the same day.

China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Narendra Modi are skipping the gathering.

France’s U.N. ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, said it is “extremely critical” for leaders to support the U.N.

He said it is a place for cooperation and dialogue over confrontation.