UN chief calls for 'global leadership'

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday stressed the need for “global leadership” as he pressed world leaders not to pursue narrow national interests in the face of hard economic times.

“I see a danger of nations looking more inward, rather than towards a shared future,” he said at the opening of the UN General Assembly’s annual debate.

He spoke of a “challenge of global leadership” to tackle the world’s worsening financial, energy and food crises.

“We see new centres of power and leadership - in Asia, Latin America and across the newly developed world,” Ban told more than 120 heads of state or government, including Presidents George W Bush of the United States and Nicolas Sarkozy of France. “Nations can no longer protect their interests, or advance the well-being of their people, without the partnership of the rest.”