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International Relations & Diplomacy vocabulary · Foreign Policy & the State

Multilateral

Meaning in international relations & diplomacy, with examples

/ˌmʌltiˈlætərəl/adjectiveCore term

In international relations & diplomacy, multilateral means: Involving three or more countries, or carried out through international organisations, as in multilateral talks, a multilateral treaty or multilateral cooperation.

In Turkish: çok taraflı

How it is used

Used for treaties, institutions and approaches to foreign policy. 'Multilateralism' is the view that shared problems are best handled through rules and institutions that many states accept. 'Plurilateral' describes a smaller group of several states.

Example sentences

  1. The conference is the largest multilateral meeting on climate this year.

  2. The country prefers bilateral deals to multilateral agreements.

  3. Multilateral institutions such as the World Bank lend to developing countries.

Common collocations

  • multilateral talks
  • multilateral agreement
  • multilateral institutions
  • multilateral cooperation
  • multilateralism
  • bilateralInvolving two countries or two parties, as in bilateral relations, a bilateral agreement or a bilateral meeting between two leaders.
  • international organisationA body set up by agreement between states, with its own members, rules and permanent staff, to deal with shared problems such as security, trade, health or development.
  • United NationsThe global organisation set up in 1945 to keep international peace and security, build friendly relations between nations and encourage cooperation; almost every state is a member.
  • consensusGeneral agreement among all participants, often reached without a formal vote because no one objects to a proposal.

More terms: Foreign Policy & the State

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