Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises Can Create More Sustainable World, Secretary-General Says in Video Message to International Council

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the sixty-first World Conference of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), in New York today:

Dr. Kim Kichan, President of the International Council for Small Business,

Dr. Ayman Tarabishy, Executive Director of the ICSB,

Members of the ICSB Board,

Co-chairs of the Ministerial Round Table:  Mr. Joo Young-Sup, Small and Medium Business Administration Minister of the Republic of Korea; and Ms. Maria Contreras-Sweet, United States Small Business Administrator,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to greet all participants at this Conference of the International Council for Small Business.

We are now well into the first year of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — our transformative plan to ensure a life of dignity for all.

The ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically call for policies that encourage the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.

That is because these businesses can create a more sustainable world — with better jobs, greater respect for the environment and more inclusive societies.

I hope you find creative ways for small businesses to help reach the SDGs, and I encourage you to join the valuable United Nations Global Compact initiative.

The United Nations fully supports your efforts to be responsible towards the societies where you operate — and to help create a better future for all.

In this spirit, I wish you great success.  Thank you.