UN General Assembly
1999

policy, particularly with regard to the most complex problems of trade, finance and the environment. International cooperation must be more open to other actors in civil society by reflecting the rich network of relationships. While several countries are re-evaluating their national policies, democratizing their societies, privatizing their national economies and decentralizing economic and political power, at the international level we are, broadly speaking, still confining ourselves to conventional intergovernmental actions. The United Nations must promote active international cooperation whereby governments and the various sectors of civil society act together towards common goals. In this connection, we welcome the “Partners for Development” initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). By breaking from normal practice, this will allow more active participation by the public and private sectors and by representatives of government and the business and intellectual worlds in resolving various complex development problems. (spoke in English) As someone who has witnessed the atrocities but also the tremendous progress that the twentieth century has brought us, I look towards the coming century with