JEDDAH, 14 February 2006 — Hiromasa Yonekura, president of the Japanese company Sumitomo Chemical, discussed the role of corporate responsibility in global development during his session on the last day of the 7th Jeddah Economic Forum yesterday.
He spoke about what his company is doing in some African countries to help them become self-sufficient as part of its corporate social responsibility.
The accelerating process of globalization is shaping economic development and increasing the disparity between the developed and developing nations.
“The rich nations get richer and the poor nations get poorer,” he said.
With the increasing disparity and regional conflicts, there is greater world instability, which, Yonekura said, is ultimately not good for business.
According to Yonekura, after World War II, Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded Asia’s, so why is it suffering now? Although Africa received more aid than Asia, south Asian countries are now self-sufficient economically. He argued that the way to help Africa achieve self-sufficiency is privatization, reducing its debt by implementing development programs, provide private aid to develop public infrastructure, and create sustainable commercial activity.
“Participation is initiatives for eradicating poverty should be considered an investment and not a charity,” he said.