Markets have been unsettled by the fallout from the mortgage crisis in the United States and the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers (video).
"As a citizen, as secretary general of the United Nations, I'm deeply concerned about all this economic slowdown, particularly what we have seen recently in Wall Street crisis - financial crisis," Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday. "This will give negative impact - very serious negative impact to overall capacity of international community, national governments, particularly developed countries."
He said it could, among other things, jeopardize the UN Millennium Development Goals.
"I'm afraid that this may affect ... the capacity in realizing the Millennium Development Goals," Ban said.
The UN chief said that as the world's largest economic power, the "U.S. role particularly at this time, will be crucially important," adding that he hoped the United States would address the causes of the current crisis and rectify the situation.
