UN Gets Down to Business 

The United Nations and international business leaders have agreed to form a close global partnership to boost economic development. The International Chamber of Commerce and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan met in February to discuss how the United Nations and the private sector could work together to expand economic opportunities, especially in poorer countries.  

In a joint statement, the UN Secretary-General and business leaders said the partnership between the two "could give new impetus to the pursuit of a more prosperous and peaceful world".  

Development and peace are essential for trade and investment to occur and for business to grow. At the same time, thriving markets are a precondition for creating jobs, improving standards of living, spreading more widely the benefits of globalization and integrating developing countries into the economy. 

Business has a strong interest in multilateral cooperation, including standard-setting through the United Nations and other intergovernmental institutions and international conventions on the environment and other global and trans-border issues. The companies represented at the meeting included Alcatel-Alsthom, Anglo Gold, BAT Industries, Bata, Bethlemem Steel, Coca-Cola, GEC International, McDonald's Worldwide, Pirelli Group, Rio Tinto, Unilever and US West. UN officials at the meeting were from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIES SHOULD BE FORWARD-LOOKING, CAREFUL POLICY CHOICES URGED 

The 1998 Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific says current crisis should not undermine development plans. The preoccupation with the current economic crisis in several Asian countries should not undermine their commitment to te fundamental objective of long-term development: growth with equity. 

This is one of the major conclusions of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in its 1998 Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the  Pacific. 

While economic growth in developing economies had decelerated in 1997 as a result of the serious economic turmoil faced by several countries of South-East and East Asia, countries of South and South-West Asia maintained robust growth. Also no major deceleration is anticipated for China. "Most Central Asian Republic staged a significant recovery from the prolonged recession which had plagued them since the early 1990s," the Survey says. 

For the least developed countries also, economic growth generally strengthened during 1995-1996 and remained strong in 1997. The Pacific Island economies, which have their own diverse structures and ability to respond to internal and external shocks, have not been directly affected by the financial turmoil in the region, but their general economic performance remained unsatisfactory, the Survey points out. (A copy of the Survey can be obtained at ESCAP in Bangkok).