New York, June 24, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called on foreign businessmen to donate 0.01% of each financial investment to combat global hunger and poverty. According to the President, this quantity will generate an annual income of US$ 17 billion. "Hungry people cannot wait. We have to move quickly and establish partnerships. Malnutrition disrupts societies and blocks economic growth," Lula affirmed today in a speech before the Global Compact Summit at the headquarters of the United Nations (UN).

Lula said that hunger is the worst weapon of mass destruction. "It doesn't kill soldiers; it kills children, adolescents, men, and women." The President reiterated that to fight it requires solidarity on the part of all businessmen. For the world to meet the goals for this milennium, Lula observed, concrete solutions and actions by private enterprise are needed. "It is very important for each entrepreneur to be solidary, besides calling his government's attention to the grave distortions and injustices caused by protectionism," he added.

According to the President, struggling for a more just world is everyone's duty: the government's, businessmen's, and society's. "The ideal is to reconcile economic awareness with social justice." The head of the Brazilian government suggested to the entrepreneurs that, on certain days in the year, all the income derived from what their companies produce be donated to philanthropic institutions.

Lula reminded the foreign businessmen that Brazil has been facing up to the challenge of fighting hunger and extreme poverty. "This is not an easy task, but it is the main objective of our Administration," the President acknowledged. He announced plans to launch, in August, "Solidarity Week," a project aimed at encouraging solidary efforts.

The Global Compact, proposed by the UN in 1999, is intended to help organizations redefine their strategies and activities in social areas. Approximately 1,500 companies, unions, and non-governmental organizations from 70 countries have already adhered to this initiative.

Reporter: Ana Paula Marra
Translator: David Silberstein