*{Political, business leaders call for enlightened strategies to fight globalization trap [http://www.weforum.org/site/knowledgenavigator.nsf/Content/Political%2C%20business%20leaders%20call%20for%20enlightened%20strategies%20to%20fight%20globalization%20trap?open&topic_id=300250000&theme_id=300] 31.01.2000 Annual Meeting 2000} Enlightened strategies are needed to avoid the "globalization trap" creating a divide within and between nations, this session heard from a leading banker, head of a major development assistance institution and the President of Indonesia. Together they called on rich and poor nations to forge a close partnership to invest in education, information technology infrastructure, and to encourage developing nations to pursue sound economic policies. Rolf-Ernst Breuer, Co-Chairman of the Annual Meeting 2000 and Spokesman of the Group Board, Deutsche Bank, Germany, said that growing criticism about globalization had manifested itself in two ways. First, many people, particularly in the developing world, believe that globalization has created imbalances where there are many losers and the winner takes all. Second, imbalances exist within and between nations. Developing nations, he noted, have not been successful over the last 30 years in improving their economic performance. On the positive side, Breuer pointed out that globalization had yielded tremendous benefits. This is evident in the long period of prosperity that the world is currently witnessing. He offered a strategy to fight the globalization trap. This involves closer cooperation between the public and private sectors in improving education infrastructure, using market forces rather than government regulations to solve problems and utilizing global communication facilities to improve the flow of information. James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, emphasized that globalization is not necessarily a new phenomenon and is just one of the many factors that should be taken into account. East Asia, he said has visibly benefited from globalization but other regions in the developing world are unable to fight poverty on a large scale. "This forces us to think: what fundamental factors affect the development of nations," said Wolfensohn. "The issues are far deeper than just the globalization trap. You have to look at many factors including the quality of economic policies being pursued by nations - policies that foster the rule of law, a sound financial system, a strong social framework and measures to combat corruption." Globalization, he noted, can bring many advantages and the private sector can play a pivotal role in this process. Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia, said that nothing could serve as a substitute for competition and the discrepancy between rich and poor is natural fallout from this phenomenon. President Wahid said that economic factors are not the only criteria by which to assess the globalization phenomenon. He said that an equally important challenge is in the cultural spheres where countries have to fight hard to protect and enrich the cultural and historical legacy. Philip Knight, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nike, USA, said that developing nations have taken great strides, thanks to free trade and sound economic policies. He pointed out that China started out as a very poor nation in 1979 and in 20 years had managed to lift itself out of absolute poverty. China's economic success, he said, could be attributed to leadership, investment in education and infrastructure, and open policies. Knight believes that it is governments, rather than the private sector, that have to take a leadership role in improving social infrastructure. However, the private sector, he said, can play a supporting role. *{Contributors: Breuer Rolf-Ernst Knight Philip H. Wahid Abdurrahman Wolfensohn James D.}