Representatives of Bulgarian business made Friday social commitments to the UN, in the presence of the organization's Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

The memorandum for cooperation was signed by Ban Ki-moon and the Chair of the Bulgarian network for the so-called UN Global Compact, Sasho Donchev.

The UN Secretary General, who is on a historic official 2-day visit to Bulgaria pointed out the memorandum is a serious step forward in achieving global values of stable development and well-being.

The United Nations Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.

At the World Economic Forum, Davos, on January 31, 1999, the then UN Secretary-General, Kofi Anan, challenged world business leaders to "embrace and enact" the Global Compact, both in their individual corporate practices and by supporting appropriate public policies. The Global Compact's operational phase was launched at UN Headquarters in New York on July 26, 2000. During the first Global Compact Leaders' Summit, held on June 24, 2004 at UN Headquarters in New York, the Secretary-General announced the addition of a tenth principle against corruption.

Bulgarian business is joining the Compact more than a decade after its launch with about 20 Bulgarian companies, foundations and associations, Darik radio reports.

"Only companies which do not compromise with the main principles of UN can become members of the Compact. Employees in our businesses do not want to be just passive observers of issues threatening global stability," Donchev is quoted saying.