UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he wants to maintain a symbiotic relationship between business and the United Nations.
"We need your innovation, your initiative, your technological prowess," Ban told a business leaders' breakfast Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York, sponsored by the U.N. Association-the USA Business Council for the United Nations and the Association for a Better New York.
"But business also needs the United Nations," he added.
Business is driven by growth and profit incentives, while the United Nations concentrates on peace and security, poverty reduction and human rights, Ban said. However, he continued, "many of our objectives are the same, building and supporting strong economies and communities, providing opportunities for people to pursue a livelihood, and ensuring that everyone can live in dignity."
The secretary-general identified the U.N. Global Compact, an initiative started in 1999 advancing business practices rooted in good corporate citizenship and universal principles, as the embodiment of the partnership between the business world and the world organization.
Ban, who took office on Jan. 1, took the opportunity to thank New York City for its support of the United Nations and for welcoming him to his new post.
U.N. World Headquarters in New York will undergo a massive renovation at a cost of over $1.8 billion, scheduled to begin in this year and conclude in 2014. The refurbishment, widely viewed as essential from a health and security standpoint, is forecast to save costs in the long-run.
The secretary-general expressed his gratitude to the people of the city and to Mayor Michael Bloomberg for their cooperation in the project and for their understanding of the possible disruptions to both the neighborhood and commuters an undertaking of this scale could cause.
