Exhibition in Washington 2002

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Extract of the address by Horst Koehler to the board of governors of the International Monetary Fund and Worldbank

Washington D.C., September 19, 2002
 
Horst Köhler
Chairman of the Executive Board and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
 

A Global Economy Needs Global Ethics

Mr. Chairman, Governors, honored guests, I am convinced that a better world is possible, if we are willing to invest in better globalization. But I also believe that we need to take our concept of global governance one step farther. Recent corporate scandals should remind us that there must be more to a market economy and entrepreneurship than profits alone. As President Vaclav Havel said two years ago in Prague, a global economy needs a sense of global ethics. I would encourage you to visit the exhibition »World Religions, Universal Peace, Global Ethic« prepared by the theologian Hans Küng, that is now underway at the IMF. I share Professor Kueng’s view that there can be no survival of the globe without a global ethic. And I think that you will be struck by how much common ground he has demonstrated among the major religions and philosophies of the world. And I trust that you, too, will see this as another source of hope for the future for the world.
 

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