Press encounter at ILO Headquarters (unofficial transcript)

SG: I think first of all, the UN has been working better amongst ourselves and our agencies, and we have also reached out in partnerships to work with the Governments, private sector, civil society and trade unions, something ILO has been doing for a long time. And I would also want to recall that at the Millennium Summit last year, the World leaders placed development and eradication of poverty at the centre of our economic programme. That means that at the national level, we all have to take steps to ensure that there is economic growth, to ensure that there is employment for the youth and employment for women in society in general. And not only do we have those plans, we have indicated that we will monitor appliance and performance on an annual basis and report back to the Governments. So we are urging all Governments to take economic development, economic growth seriously, particularly growth that also creates employment for the population. And I applaud the leadership and the effort of Mr. Juan Somavia in this area. As he indicated, he is working very, very well with all the agencies of the UN system as well as with the private sector, Governments and trade unions. And I believe that if we pool our efforts and work together, we can achieve our objectives.*****