We regret that the interdependent world economy is leading us towards continuing marginalization. But the world can not prosper if the poor continue to decline. We should now ask ourselves as to how much we have travelled and how far we should go. Following the end of the cold war, the state of bipolar world and that of the global nuclear threat has come to an end, and a new world disorder has taken a shape. The United Nations is the only universal Organization to contain such threats.
Development is the new name for peace.
The fight against poverty, hunger and ignorance should remain the commitments of the UN in the next millennium. Globalization, liberalization and interdependence are the predominant features of the present world order. It has profound implications for LDCs in particular in terms of their position in the world economy. These, however, offer both opportunities and challenges for the development process. Concerns are there that globalization and liberalization are accentuating income disparities in the world economy with most benefits accruing to the already industrialized and newly industrialized economies, while the weaker developing and least developed one have become progressively marginalized due mainly to stagnation of ODA and the continuing drain on resources deriving from debt-servicing obligations.