It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to the ILO's Enterprise Forum 99. Since taking office in March this year I have been emphasizing the role of enterprises in achieving the objectives which are central to our organization.
Enterprises are key to sustainable growth in open economies.
It was chosen to create a framework for exploring the different dimensions of the relationship between enterprise competitiveness and social progress - a relationship which we strongly believe is not only compatible but mutually supportive. We have all learnt that there are no stable investments in unstable societies. This close linkage between competitive and dynamic enterprises and the promotion of human dignity and social progress was clearly underscored by the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995. As you will know, the follow-up to the Summit will be reviewed at a Special Session of the General Assembly here in Geneva in June 2000. At the Summit we concluded that stable creation of wealth is a prerequisite for an equitable distribution of well-being, and that the creation of enterprises lies at the heart of greater employment opportunities.