NGOs playing key role in moving people from poverty to opportunity, says Clinton

Addressing a Madinat Jumeirah audience of around 1,500, the former President, speaking via video cast from Sri Lanka where he was reviewing Tsunami reconstruction work said the power of the public to do good was never so great.

"The power for private organizations to do good is enormous," he said. "The power of private citizens to do public good is greater than ever before. So, we have to be optimistic, but not naïve. We live in a challenging time and one in which we have to bring people into the circle of opportunity."

And the former President cited Dubai's Young Arab Leaders initiative as a keen example of NGO potential.

"I am very hopeful that the Young Arab Leaders group will find models that work and will reach out to people in co-operation and respect."

Clinton told the audience that globalization brought benefits and burdens.

"One of the key factors of the modern age is can the world's poor be brought into this globalised economy? Half the world's people are living on less than half a dollar a day. This leaving out of half of the world's people is not without its consequences," he warned.

"Can we bring the poor into the positive world of globalization and can our obsession with economic growth and opportunity accommodate and deal with environmental challenges and the long term effects of climate change?"

Mr Clinton said the world knows how to move people from poverty to opportunity, from ignorance to education, from sickness to health but questioned its commitment to do so.

"The question is will we put the money behind it?" he said and warned, "If we don't do it we can expect to have more enemies, tribal wars and a more expensive clean-up for the wealthier countries when it's all over."

On the environmental front, Clinton called for greater use of clean energies.

"Unlike oil and coal, the more wind and solar power you use, the cheaper it gets," he said. "In the Gulf states for instance, much energy could be generated from wind and solar power. There will not be an end to the demand for oil, but clean energy has to be part of a strategy that is good for the economy and helps maintain stability around the world."