InterAction Council focused on globalisation

Meeting in Helsinki at the 18th plenary session of the InterAction Council, former heads of state and government drew attention to the uneven consequences of globalisation, especially to the plight of those who have not the means to plug into the global network of new information technology.

One of the striking aspects of globalisation has been the growing income disparity, between and within states, accentuated by the increasing importance of information technology, said former Australian Prime Minister Malcom Fraser, chairman of the InterAction Council, when concluding the annual meeting of the organization of former world leaders.

On the other hand, in their concluding statement, the participants welcomed the many positive trends in the present-day world, including China´s increasing involvement in the world economy, the recent summit between the leaders of North and South Korea and the financial recovery in South East Asia.

While after the end of the Cold War the world is no longer divided by a two-polar power struggle, the United States alone is more powerful than any other nation and thus the balancing role of international institutions is more important than ever, Mr Fraser said.

The InterAction Council is a networking forum for former heads of state and government. More than twenty former world leaders participated in the Helsinki meeting on 17-20 June, including Mr Helmut Schmidt, former Chancellor of Germany, Dr Oscar Arias Sanchez, former President of Costa Rica and Mr Ingvar Carlsson, former Prime Minister of Sweden.