35th General Assembly of the World Trade Centers Association

Mr. President
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the Palais des Nations. You have chosen to come here – to the United Nations – for a special meeting during your General Assembly in recognition of our shared objectives. As your motto says, you work for peace and stability through trade. Uneven development and unequal distribution of resources can cause tension and ultimately be a contributing factor to instability and conflict.

In facilitating economic exchanges across borders, you contribute to creating employment, attracting investment and generating financial resources that are critical to meeting our formidable development challenges. But, bringing people together in business – up and down the supply chain and in relation with consumers – private business also contributes towards building understanding of our common concerns and challenges. Such an awareness of shared interests can help give people from different backgrounds a sense of a common purpose.

The United Nations believes that the private sector should – and can – play an important, positive role in building a more stable and just world. For its part, private enterprise also acknowledges the significant role that the United Nations and other organizations play in providing a necessary framework and conditions of stability to minimize risk and conduct operations safely and smoothly.

In an increasingly globalized world, we are all stakeholders in a global economy, and we need to work together to ensure that we maximize the benefits of this single market place. That is why the Secretary-General – already five years ago here in Switzerland – launched the Global Compact as a vehicle for greater engagement between the United Nations and business. With the great potential for influence and impact of global business comes also responsibility for appropriate corporate practices that respect universal human rights, internationally agreed labour standards and protect our environment. The Compact is therefore a voluntary corporate social responsibility initiative that advances universal principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption, based on established international norms. It relies on the commitment of business leaders in integrating its principles into their daily practices.

Aligning business practices with the principles of the Global Compact is not just common sense; it is good business sense. Reputations with consumers – and eventually revenues – depend not only on what service or product is provided, but also very much on how it is provided. In a global economy, confident consumers with direct access to information about business practices across the world have increasingly demonstrated their commitment to rewarding responsible corporate behaviour. In supporting the Global Compact, international business leaders contribute to building a social and ethical foundation to underpin the global market in everybody’s interest.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The World Trade Centers Association has already demonstrated its commitment to working closely with the United Nations in achieving our common aims. You have consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, which enables you to make a contribution to multilateral discussions in the economic and social fields. Representing local and regional trade centres from all corners of the world, you are in a privileged position to bring forward views shared across borders. Such a global perspective is an important input to our efforts. The United Nations welcomes this will to join forces to create opportunities for all.

Next year, the United Nations General Assembly will review progress towards realizing the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals that flow from it. This blueprint for action represents a global vision for peace and prosperity for all – through education, better health care and reduction of poverty. And trade – on an equitable basis – can make a particularly important contribution in realizing this vision. As the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has stressed, the Millennium Development Goals offer a compelling platform for business involvement. Helping build the necessary infrastructure to meet many of the goals is an enormous business opportunity. And once it is built, business will find larger, eager markets in place.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Engaging with the United Nations is an investment that pays a good dividend: a better world for all. We should count on each other’s support in this joint venture.

I wish you much success in the discussions at your General Assembly.

Thank you very much.