The increasingly important role of our Vienna-based organizations has been matched throughout by the commitment and hospitality of the people and Government of our host country. On behalf of all the United Nations family, I congratulate you and thank you most sincerely for the wonderful contribution you are all making to the accomplishment of the United Nations' mission. From time immemorial, people have pursued these simple aspirations. What distinguishes our era is that their fulfilment depends increasingly on developments occurring in the four corners of the globe. Nowadays, no society can claim to be immune from outside influence.
Threats travel more easily across borders.
The globalization of economic activity is affecting every country's economic prospects. It is bringing tremendous benefits to some, but many others have suffered because of it. New technology is disseminating knowledge and information and opening up potential economic opportunity to many people through the world. But globalization is leaving behind hundreds of millions of people who live in desperate poverty and have little prospects of realizing their potential. It heightens the risk of major disruptions in societies that are not prepared for it and presents new challenges for social cohesion and cultural diversity.