Xinhua, United Nations :
Economic and social issues are expected to draw close attention from 193 member states at the annual high-level debate of the UN General Assembly, which will kick off on Sept. 24 at UN Headquarters in New York, a top UN official told Xinhua.
Heads of state, government or foreign ministers of all UN member states will take the floor at the week-long General Debate of the 69th Session of the General Assembly, which is expected to run through Oct. 1.
The annual debate will be held against a backdrop of weak economic recovery in the world, turmoil in some of the regions in the globe and higher expectation of international cooperation for better economic growth, Wu Hongbo, the UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
On the world economy, Wu said, “The world economy is recovering in a slow, but continuing manner.”
According to UN figures, developed countries are expected to register an economic growth of 2 percent in 2014 and 2.4 percent in 2015, while developing economies are projected to grow at 4.7 precept and 5.1 percent, respectively.
“Currently, there are many issues in the field of world economy, such as employment, especially employment opportunities for young people. This is a problem that the international community is deeply concerned,” Wu said.
“At present, it is one of the grave challenges to provide youngsters with decent jobs while promoting economic development,” he said.
On regional situation, he said, “new problems crop up while old ones remain unresolved.”
Since the beginning of this year, turmoil has been reported in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. “All these have something to do with terrorism. Poverty and inequality originate from poor economy, giving rise to turmoil in society,” he added.
Various conflicts have brought about many challenges, uncertainties and additional risks for the world’s economic recovery. “How to achieve development in a peaceful environment is a very important topic for many countries at the annual high- level debate,” Wu noted.
At the same time, the official called on developed countries to honor their promise to render official development assistance to developing nations in a timely and effective manner, while urging the developing world to explore new ways of cooperation as a supplement to the traditional form of cooperation so that the least developed countries can get enough resources for their own economic growth and social progress.
This year’s high-level debate will be held at a time when the United Nations is leading the world efforts to hammer out a global agenda for sustainable development for the next 15 years, Wu noted.
