The theme of this paper is to explore where and how the governments' and corporate responsibility should interplay. The main focus is to address the poverty as the greatest obstacle to development. Our goal is to highlight the concepts of the dialogue and cooperation between the government and business, less so the practicalities thereof.

The following issues will be addressed: Clarity of positions and expectations; Parity and reciprocity. In terms of singling out the most burning issues the focus will be on: 1. Marketing the products and services to the poor — issues of concerns and best practices. It is a good challenge for capitalism but still potentially a profitable proposition. 2. Responses to economic and financial crises — the plague causing havoc and undermining development.

In conclusion, it is posited that the development goals need to be "localized" and adapted to socio-economic environment of individual countries. In addition, rather than advocating a set of rigid standards, the "best practices" approach by business can produce desired results.

Dr Leon Zurawicki has since 1982 been a Professor of International Marketing at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. He is also a Coordinator of International Programs at its College of Management. His current research concentrates on Foreign Direct Investment as a function of host-countries' attractiveness and image, while his other area of interests encompasses export management and foreign sourcing. Another stream of his academic efforts focuses on corruption and corporate social responsibility. Professor Zurawicki has also been a consultant to the Ministry of Finance of Nicaragua, Ministry of Privatization in Poland and several private companies like American Express Bank, ARCOR (Argentina), Ferroatlantica (Spain). He is an author of four books and numerous articles. Dr Zurawicki holds academic degrees in international business and economics from University of Warsaw, Netherlands School of Economics and College of Europe (Bruges).