"Today's economic crisis affects all of humanity without distinction and requires a global response," a senior Israeli financial official said here Friday.

Karnit Flug, director of the Research Department of the Bank of Israel, made the statement as he was speaking to the high-level UN meeting on the world financial and economic crisis.

"This United Nations gathering reflects our collective will to tackle this crisis and address its impact on the developing world," he said.

"Today, the world faces an economic crisis unparalleled since the Great Depression," he said. "The current economic downturn is not constrained by national borders or archaic notions of geography."

"This crisis is global in nature and affects us all -- rich countries and poor ones, developed nations and developing ones," he said. "The effects of the world economic crisis on countries around the world are severe as governments, as well as international organizations, seek effective responses to the various aspects of this crisis."

"As such, the crisis requires a global response: common and coordinated action that builds upon cooperation among all nations," he said. "These responses have much in common, but naturally there are also important differences among each individual country's response that reflects their unique circumstances."

In addition to reviving the global economy and implementing required reforms, we must pay special attention to the adverse impact of the economic crisis on developing countries, he said.

The global economic crisis threatens to erode and reverse the progress made on the Internationally Agreed Development Goals, particularly the Millennium Development Goals.

"The crisis, if unchecked, can undermine the reduction in global poverty rates and would slow the gains made in economic growth in developing countries," he said. "Education, health and social stability are all at risk of severe deterioration with women and children bearing the brunt of such harmful trends."

"Therefore, we must confront these concerns before they become exacerbated," he said. "With its vast network of agencies dealing with development issues, the United Nations is the most suitable entity through which to address the impact of this economic crisis on developing countries."

Source: Xinhua