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UN Secretary-General Calls for Efforts on Network Economy
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday in Beijing called on the international community to step up efforts to deal with the challenges posed by the network economy.
In a message to the International Symposium on Network Economy and Economic Governance, which opened here Thursday morning, Annan said that such efforts require decisive leadership at both the national and international level.
Over the past decade, the emergence of the network economy and the development of e-commerce have radically transformed the traditional economic landscape, he said.
"This new knowledge-based economy presents unprecedented opportunities as well as risks for the developing world," he said.
While having the potential to foster economic and social progress, narrow the poverty gap, and reduce geographical obstacles to markets and prosperity, the network economy also risks bypassing or marginalizing countries that already lag behind in technological innovations, keeping them at lower levels of development, the UN chief said.
"It is essential that all governments, in cooperation with the private sector and civil society, establish economic policies that help their nations to better cope with the changing economic environment," he said.
The two-day symposium was jointly sponsored by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, five Chinese ministries and the Beijing municipal government.
Annan said that the symposium will provide "a splendid opportunity" for high-level government officials and leading experts from the public and private sectors to discuss the future of the global network economy and to consider its implications for the developing world.
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