Top United Nations officials on Wednesday called on governments to support young entrepreneurs, which they said is essential to tackling the global jobs crisis.

"We meet in the middle of a global jobs crisis that demands a bold response," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Thematic Debate on Entrepreneurship for Development.

"This year, some 73 million young people will be unemployed. Between 2016 and 2030, an estimated 425 million young women and men will join the labor force between 2016 and 2030. That means the world will need about half a billion jobs by then," Ban told participants.

"To help meet this challenge, we should encourage, educate and empower young entrepreneurs," for entrepreneurship can be a part of the solution by transforming unemployed young people into major employers, he noted.

Countries should focus not just on creating better conditions for entrepreneurship but also invest in education and nurture young people, the secretary-general said, adding that they will be the ones creating jobs and innovative solutions in the future.

"I call on all partners to support youth entrepreneurship, self- employment and youth-led businesses. The United Nations system will do its part. Our Global Compact initiative will continue mobilizing and supporting young entrepreneurs in advancing a more sustainable future," Ban said.

In his remarks, UNGA President Vuk Jeremic urged governments to foster enabling business environments for young entrepreneurs to help achieve sustainable development.

"Entrepreneurs must be encouraged to stand at the frontline of socio-economic change, in the service of sustainable development," said Jeremic.

"They are the ones who are often best placed to take the first crucial steps towards breaking the cycle of poverty in their surroundings," he said.

The president pointed out that, at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) held last year in Brazil, countries recognized that governments alone would not be able to achieve all commitments on sustainable development, and that the contribution of civil society and the private sector was crucial to innovation.

"I believe governments should see the promotion of socially- conscious entrepreneurial spirit as a basic duty," he said, adding that entrepreneurs must be given the means to leverage new technologies that will help move away from an economy that depends on carbon-based energy systems.

Entrepreneurs will also be able to contribute to the post-2015 development agenda, Jeremic said, through public-private partnerships that focus on improving the lives of the world's most disadvantaged people.

"I believe the post-2015 agenda will largely stand or fall on whether governments will be able to work together with individuals who embody the spirit of socially-responsible entrepreneurship," he said. "Our goal must be to establish a new form of global engagement."