UN passes Israeli resolution on ‘entrepreneurship development’
129 states back campaign to promote development and reduce poverty by encouraging entrepreneurship, despite efforts by Arab states to thwart it
Yifa Yaakov is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
The UN on Friday passed an Israeli resolution concerning entrepreneurship as a driving force for development, with 129 countries voting in favor of the resolution, 31 voting against it and nine abstaining.
“Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not,” read the slogan on a brochure produced by the Israeli mission to the UN to encourage member states to support its resolution, “Entrepreneurship for Development.”
“Entrepreneurship empowers people. It generates solutions and helps communities to overcome old problems with new ways of thinking,” read another one of the campaign’s brochures. “Entrepreneurship is a major tool for reducing poverty, improving social conditions and confronting environmental challenges.”
The resolution campaign was accompanied by a diplomatic effort to thwart attempts by Arab member states to have the resolution tabled.
The campaign urged member states to view the concept of “entrepreneurship development” as “a powerful engine that can propel the global agenda forward.”
The Israeli resolution raised suggestions for several practical methods to promote entrepreneurship in developing countries, such as taking steps to remove the bureaucratic obstacles blocking the entrepreneurs’ path and facilitating access to financial services.
“The Israeli spirit of entrepreneurship and creativity prevailed at the UN today. As a state that was founded in difficult circumstances, we have been able to create opportunities for talented people and have become an enterprising superpower,” said Ron Prosor, head of Israel’s mission to the UN. Creating a culture of entrepreneurship can work miracles and drive economies forward. Investing in human resources is a real message that Israel conveys to the developing world.”
Concerning the Arab states’ opposition to the resolution, Prosor stated that these states had, to his regret, “chosen once again to struggle against a move that was meant to aid them, just because Israel was the one standing behind it.”
According statement released by the Israeli mission to the UN after the resolution passed, Saturday’s vote was the first time the UN had passed a resolution concerning entrepreneurship as a method of combating poverty and encouraging growth.
