Fifty-sixth General Assembly

Second Committee

23^rd Meeting (PM)

CONCLUDING DISCUSSION OF BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT, SECOND COMMITTEE SPEAKERS

STRESS IMPORTANCE OF ENCOURAGING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Developing countries, especially those in the Caribbean, must be included in actions to combat corruption and money laundering, the representative of the Bahamas told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this afternoon as it concluded its discussion of business and development.

Combating corruption required an evidence-based, comprehensive, transparent and integrated approach at both national and international levels, said the representative, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).  She stressed the right of CARICOM countries to participate fully in the rule-making processes that affected their economic interests.  And she also reiterated the need for inclusive participation by all countries in matters of international tax cooperation, which was another important issue to her region.

The United Nations should continue to monitor and analyse the multidimensional relationship between the entrepreneurial process and sustainable growth, said the representative of Ukraine.  Issues such as private ownership, democratic governance, regulatory frameworks and enhancing the competitiveness of small- and medium-size enterprises should be areas of concern in that effort.  The United Nations system had an important role to play in encouraging entrepreneurship in the developing countries and those with economies in transition.

The representative of Libya said that halving poverty by 2015 was a laudable objective of the international community, but to attain that objective it was important to ensure adequate levels of economic growth around the world.  Globalization could help Member States attain that ambitious objective.  Technology transfer, liberalization of trade, doing away with trade restrictions, and lightening the debt and debt-servicing burden all contributed to global economic development.  The international community should support local African initiatives for industrial development as well as the efforts of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in the region.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 6 November, to take up sustainable development and international economic cooperation.

Background

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon to continue its consideration of sectoral policy questions, focusing on the sub-items of industrial development cooperation, and business and development.  For background information see Press Release GA/EF/2973 issued this morning.

Statements

OLEKSII HOLUBOV (Ukraine) said he was confident that the United Nations system had an important role to play in encouraging entrepreneurship in the developing countries and those with economies in transition, as well as in assisting countries recover illegally transferred funds.  The United Nations should continue to monitor and analyse the multidimensional interrelationships between the entrepreneurial process and sustainable growth, highlighting issues such as economic development and private ownership, democratic governance, regulatory frameworks and enhancing the competitiveness of small- and medium-size enterprises.

Turning to industrial development cooperation, he felt it was important to complete the reform of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in the most efficient manner.  He welcomed recent developments in UNIDO’s activities, such as the elaboration of the integrated programmes, which had provided new opportunities for further assistance to the developing countries and economies in transition.  The UNIDO’s ongoing transformation should increase donors’ confidence in and public acceptance of its activities, thus mainstreaming the implementation of the relevant programmes and projects.  He added that his Government was expecting to conclude an agreement with UNIDO, which would make it possible for it to pay off its accumulated arrears in instalments over a maximum period of 10 years and restore its voting rights.

TUMI ZAWAM (Libya) said halving poverty by 2015 was a laudable objective of the international community, but to attain that objective it was important to ensure adequate levels of economic growth in several areas.  Globalization could help Member States attain that ambitious objective.  Technology transfer, liberalization of trade, doing away with trade restrictions, as well as lightening the debt and debt-servicing burden all contributed to global economic development.  Africa needed development, especially in the area of industry and, in that regard, it needed support from the international community.

The importance of industrial development could not be overstated given the direct impact it had on poverty reduction, he said.  Such development also required the international community to support local initiatives, as well as those projects undertaken by UNIDO.  The multilateral trading system should be reformed to better suit the needs of industrial development in the South.  Developed countries should open their markets to export goods and services in a way that would be preferential and beneficial to developing countries.

RHODA M. JACKSON (Bahamas), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that combating corruption required an evidence-based, comprehensive, transparent and integrated approach at both national and international levels.  She, therefore, supported a comprehensive approach, which included efforts to strengthen institutional and legal frameworks, with effective law enforcement as well as measures crafted to limit opportunities for corruption.

The need to include developing countries in actions to combat corruption and money laundering could not be overemphasized, as many of them in the Caribbean depended heavily on financial services.

For that reason, she stressed the right of CARICOM countries to participate fully in the rule-making processes that affected their economic interests.  She also reiterated the need for inclusive participation by all countries in matters of international tax cooperation, as that was an important issue to the region and called for adequate attention to be given to the subject at the International Conference on Financing for Development.

Anti-money-laundering efforts, she said, had focused on all offshore centres as if they were the most vulnerable points in the international financial system.  By discriminating against those centres, the international campaign against money laundering was open to the charge of being unduly partisan.  There might be weaknesses in offshore centres, but all countries had an obligation and interest in effective money-laundering safeguards, bearing in mind that the most advanced centres had the heaviest obligations and interests.  The CARICOM would continue to ensure that their international financial sectors met the highest international standards in respect of regulation, supervision and other anti-money-laundering legislation.

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