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Gap Between Developing, Developed Countries Should Be Narrowed in Knowledge Economy Era
Developing countries herald with mixed feelings the arrival of the knowledge economy era which is described by many as one of the most important periods in the history of the planet.
Their deputies attending the Sixth Major Cities Summit Beijing 2000 that ended today expressed concern that the distance between the poor and rich nations will increase in the next century. Before this, only one such meeting was held in a developing country.
Ali Mufit Gurtuna, mayor of Greater Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, said countries that invest more in the knowledge economy have been benefited from globalization, which has caused an uneven distribution of income internationally.
A seasoned urban planning advisor from Montreal, in economically developed Canada, also believed that the poor foundation in developing countries has made them lack the high technology and qualified personnel necessary for developing the knowledge economy, which will start a new round of polarization in wealth between the poor and rich nations.
Many of the summit deputies believe cities will become the biggest victim in this process. Urbanization has become the main symbol of global modernization. More than 1 billion of the additional urban population in the future will occur in developing countries, but most of these countries have to struggle with absolute poverty, with no investment to develop itself.
At present, 1.5 billion of the world's urban population have been living in absolute poverty, most of whom are residents from developing countries.
A prime part of the world's wealth is circulating among big cities of developed countries such as New York and Tokyo, which have turned into major battlefields for multinationals, especially high-tech giants making frantic procurements.
Shanti Desai, mayor of Delhi, India, said the gap between the rich and poor in cities should paid attention to, especially in developing countries. As one of the world's leading producers of software, India has made reducing slums in its country as one of the government's major tasks.
Desai urged rich members of the international community to help the poor. With adequate outside aid, developing countries will be able to make greater progress in economic development, he said.
Ali Mufit Gurtuna, mayor of Greater Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul, said the polarization of the wealth in the world has gone to the extreme. The prosperity status proportion of rich and poor nations was 11:1 in the early years of this century, but it changed to 800:1 by the turn of the century.
He urged countries to use advanced technology and experiences of developed countries to narrow the great gulf, because without the inflow of capital, technology, productivity, progress of intelligence, developing countries cannot succeed in today's world.
Beijing Mayor Liu Qi said that while relying on its own strength to develop productivity, developing countries should also make greater efforts to open wider and seek international cooperation. Beijing has become a place where high-tech research and development centers for multinationals are situated.
In November this year, more than 20 mayors from southwest China's Yunnan will go to Canada to receive training in the science of advanced management. It will be a part of a training program under which 1,000 people have been selected as trainees.
China has recently chosen items including information technology, biotechnology and high-tech agriculture to be executed for South-South Cooperation.
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