MUNICH - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the importance of development in conflicts prevention during his speech at the 53rd Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday.
He said countries, institutions and civil societies should be made stronger and more resilient, so that the tendency of being involved in conflicts can be diminished.
The UN chief pointed out that the increasingly inter-linked megatrends of the world, ranging from climate changes, excessive population growth to food security risks, have led to dramatical competition for resources, which increases likelihood of conflicts of mankind.
As for globalization, Guterres said he still regarded it as an incredible generator of world's prosperity, but admitted increasing inequality as some parts of the world lag behind.
He cited a recent argument by the Fortune magazine that just eight individuals own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world's population, saying that too excessive inequality is the generator of instability and risks, and a blow to people's confidence about political establishments and international organizations.
Guterres took the unemployment among the young as a typical demonstration of such inequality, saying it posed a major threat to the global security as it is yet "perfect" for the recruitment of terrorist organizations. (Xinhua)