And it is increasingly clear he said, that there's no simple solution to the problem. He warned that if unresolved, the effects of the problem will be felt on two levels. On the national level, people face disruption in their daily lives. Energy supplies, supplies on supermarket shelves, public transport and health care will all be affected. At the international level, the impact will be felt through the global interdependences of trade, manufacturing, transport, energy generation and distribution, telecommunications and defence technology.
International cooperation is crucial to minimize the impact on cross-border activities.
Meanwhile, experts from around the world have agreed that a major international effort had to be undertaken over the next twelve months to minimise the effects of Y2K problem, sometimes called the millennium bug. Following a meeting at UN headquarters, the participants also agreed the matter had to be accorded the highest priority by their national governments in order to ensure the Y2K compliance of critical systems. The participants highlighted the fact that given the interconnections in international networking in the modern world, cooperative international efforts and agreements were essential to address the Y2K problem globally. The participants also underlined the necessity for developing countries and economies in transition to evaluate precisely their needs at the national level as soon as possible and to prepare emergency plans. The United Kingdom said the Security Council's role in conflict resolution could only be effective if it was part of a wider effort by the UN system.