Your participation does not mean that you have abandoned the particular cause you were set up to champion. But it means that you have decided to place that cause in a broader context, because it is more likely to flourish in a freer, more prosperous world. Some may say that business should stick to business, and leave wider concerns to government. Certainly it is true that neither corporations nor voluntary groups can take over the indispensable role of the State. But we cannot wait for governments to do it all.
Globalization operates on Internet time.
And you, in business, labour and civil society organizations, have skills and resources that are vital in helping to build a more robust global community. Over the past year, many of you have been working with my team to define that role. Our labour and civil society partners will help build and deepen the Compact, and lend their expertise and support to designing and implementing its undertakings. Indeed, probably the most important step we have taken in the last 12 months has been to bring those organizations into the Compact as partners. The result is that in this Chamber today we have a new global coalition, linking together enlightened leaders from business, labour, and civil society organisations.