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GLOBALISATION MUST BENEFIT ALL - President |
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President John Agyekum Kufuor yesterday called on the United Nations to ensure that the current wave of globalisation is driven by a high moral imperative in order not to leave any losses in its trail. |
He said globalisation should prove beneficial to all and detrimental to none.
Globalisation is the process of integrating world economies, technologies and socio-cultural and political forces.
Addressing the opening of the 12th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Accra yesterday, President Kufuor said the conference must be seen as an opportunity to assist African countries and other developing nations to overcome under-development and reap the full benefits of globalisation.
He said in 1964 when the first UNCTAD conference was held in Geneva, overriding its mandate was to help developing economies to fully integrate into the global economy but, he said, right from the beginning global trade rules were skewed against developing countries.
He said it was unfortunate that special provisions such as the Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which were to be explored for redress have been far less than wholesome.
"The developed world has displayed half-hearted commitment and cynicism, while the developing world also exhibits resignation and skepticism," he said.
To achieve the needed advancement, President Kufuor said, both sides must shake themselves out of the "gripping doubts" to be able to share in a common vision of a "human-centred global village."
He said development goals set by a nation and the policies adopted to achieve them were highly influenced by the global economic landscape and Ghana and other African countries are subject to the vagaries of a savagely competitive global system which leaves them with no control over pricing of commodities.
It was, therefore, important that UNCTAD XII, seized the opportunity to review the processes of empowering nations to meet the ever-changing challenges and conditions of globalisation.
The conference, he said, must be guided by the outcomes of previous UNCTAD conferences as well as landmark meetings such as the Doha Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, the Millennium Summit of 2002 and the resulting Millennium Development Goals.
He called on the delegates to pay attention to fair market access through special, and differential treatment, south-south co-operation, aid for trade, ODA and FDI during their deliberations.
That, he said, must be done in a spirit of purposefulness, tolerance and flexibility, in the light of the general acceptance that mankind "is fated to live in an inter-dependent global village."
President Kufuor said it is certain that if the international community continues to defer finding credible solutions to long-standing problems and unfinished businesses, it will be condemning itself to facing even more complex and intractable issues on development in the future.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-Moon regret that trade in the world was steadily increasing but only among developed nations, with the developing countries becoming the engines of growth for the rich.
He said there was the need for fresh thinking and approach towards reversing the trade imbalance in the world.
Mr Ban expressed concern about the skyrocketing prices of food in the world and said it could lead to other problems, including social and political if not properly handled.
He said the UN will set up a high powered task force to look into the food shortage and called for the support of developed countries.
Mr Ban said the current food crisis in the world has arisen partly because the world has over the years consumed more than it produces, adding that must be taken steps to ensure food security.
"Let us not joke with it. The problem is serious but we should not be unnecessarily alarmed."
On the Millennium Development Goals, he said, it was sad that most countries especially in Africa were far behind and stressed the need for them to buck-up.
He said it was important that the poor countries were assisted to develop through the channeling of resources to them by the rich nations.
On conflicts in the world Mr Ki-moon said efforts should be made by the world to shift from peacekeeping to peace building and added that countries coming out of war should also be helped.
President Lula da Silva of Brazil who spoke in Portuguese, said the UN should lead the crusade in the elimination of hunger, alleviation of poverty and the promotion of sustainable development.
"We should design innovative programmes and mechanisms to tackle the issue of hunger."
He said the time has come for the developed world to give greater consideration to the promotion of trade in developing countries to help accelerate the growth of those economies.
"We should be able to tackle the food crisis that is hitting many parts of the world and make sure the poor and the vulnerable get food to eat.
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