With the United Nations marking the 75th anniversary of the signing of its charter on Friday, experts at an online forum are calling for all countries to enhance multilateralism amid the COVID-19 global health crisis, which has greatly disrupted countries around the world and exposed them to severe economic and social repercussions.

The COVID-19 outbreak is a stark reminder of the need for global cooperation across borders, an international forum of leading analysts heard on Wednesday. Countries' responses will determine how fast the world recovers and how well it handles pressing challenges, they said.

The online event, co-organized by think tanks from China, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom, was held to mark the 75th anniversary of the signing of the UN charter.

"The international community should have become much closer, but unfortunately, the rise of unilateralism has deepened division across the world in past years," said former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who gave the keynote speech at the forum.

Raffarin said a rising trend of unilateralism, isolationism and protectionism has been reinforced during the COVID-19 outbreak, threatening the effectiveness of the global fight against the pandemic.

He emphasized that the United Nations still stands as the largest international multilateral arena today.