Laos, 2003

Let me convey my congratulations to

Mr. Julian Hunte on his election to the presidency of

the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session. We are

confident that this Assembly stands to benefit greatly

from his diplomatic experience and skills. Like others,

I pledge the full support and cooperation of the Lao

delegation to him as he undertakes his duties and

express the hope that our deliberations on many of the

most pressing world issues will be fruitful.

Since the last time we convened, the world has

gone through major changes and challenges. Although

peace, dialogue and cooperation for development

continue to prevail today across many regions, we have

been bearing witness to a world beset by terror, civil

wars, armed conflicts and violence, acts of aggression

and interference in the internal affairs of States. In

handling these problems, we believe it is incumbent

upon all of us to show patience, courage and

determination and to strive to solve them through

dialogue, diplomacy and political means. Towards that

end, we should continue to seek multilateral routes

through the United Nations. In this regard, we should

like to make special mention of Secretary-General Kofi

Annan. While we wish him more success as he

endeavours to defend and promote the principles and

ideals of this universal Organization, we can only

express great appreciation for the efforts he has made.

At present, the problems plaguing our planet,

alas, are not limited to those considered to be political

or military. There are also those that affect the

environmental, social and economic fronts. More

striking are the issues of global warming, pollution,

natural disasters, HIV/AIDS, incurable diseases,

poverty and underdevelopment, the crises of refugees,

debt and economic stagnation, which have yet to find

effective solutions. The severity of these problems is

even more acute in a globalized world in which the gap

between developed and developing countries is

widening.

We should therefore strive effectively to address

these problems in order to meet the Millennium

Development Goals adopted three years ago by this

Assembly. Standing here today and recommitting

ourselves to meeting those noble Goals, we want a

world where poverty and hunger are alleviated; where

education is offered to every child; where women have

the same opportunities as men; where incurable

diseases are effectively combated; and where the world

continues to build partnership and cooperation for

sustained economic growth and sustainable

development.

For many years, the land-locked developing

countries have attached a particular interest to their

special needs and problems. As Chairman of the 31-

member Group of Land-Locked Developing Countries

for the past four years, the Lao People’s Democratic

Republic has spared no effort in bringing the special

needs and problems of land-locked developing

countries to the forefront of the international arena. As

a result of this long-standing concerted effort, the

International Ministerial Conference of Landlocked

and Transit Developing Countries and Donor Countries

and International Financial and Development

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Institutions on Transit Transport Cooperation was held

last month in Kazakhstan as the first-ever United

Nations conference of its kind. The meeting adopted

the Almaty Declaration and Programme of Action. We

are delighted that this global Programme of Action

addresses, first and foremost, the special needs and

problems of the landlocked developing countries, while

taking into account the legitimate concerns of transit

developing countries. In this respect, all stakeholders

are urged to fully and effectively implement the

Almaty Programme of Action in the years to come.

Since its inception, the United Nations has

performed multiple activities in various areas, such as

the maintenance of peace and security, socio-economic

development, humanitarian assistance, the promotion

of international law, human rights and the protection of

the environment. In these endeavours, the United

Nations has achieved many successes, including in the

field of socio-economic development. However, in

many other areas, still more effort is required in order

to attain better results.

As Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in his

annual report this year,

“in the area of peace and security, it has been a

trying year for the United Nations. The war in

Iraq severely tested the principle of collective

security and the resilience of the Organization.”

(A/58/1, para. 2)

In the light of this, and given the present international

situation, the Security Council, the main body for the

maintenance of international peace and security, should

play its full role in securing peace and security in the

world, as stipulated in the Charter. The Security

Council members, especially the permanent members,

should do everything possible to ensure that this organ

effectively discharges its duties in the maintenance of

peace and security. A safe and secure world would

enable all nations to better promote their socio-

economic development. The international community

is therefore urged to deploy serious efforts towards this

end.

In a world where cooperation for development is

widespread, where in every region there is economic

integration to achieve common benefits, it is

regrettable that the economic, commercial and financial

restrictions imposed on Cuba continue. We reaffirm the

support of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic for

the General Assembly resolution calling for the lifting

of such a restrictive policy, with the aim of benefiting

all peoples in the region as well as the world at large.

With regard to the Middle East, we continue to be

gravely concerned about the ongoing violence and

disproportionate use of force that have brought nothing

but destruction and death to both Palestine and Israel.

We urge the two sides to exercise the utmost restraint

and engage in earnest negotiations so that peace and

cooperation may eventually ensue in the region. If that

is done, by 2005 the inalienable rights of the

Palestinian people to establish an independent and

viable State, living side by side with Israel in peace and

security, could become a reality.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic has

followed the recent developments in the Korean

peninsula with great attention. We render our full

support to the six-party talks hosted in Beijing in

August by the Government of China, which contributed

actively. We are pleased with the significant progress

achieved by this meeting. We very much hope that the

dialogue process will be pursued to address the nuclear

issue in parallel with the security of the Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea. This would no doubt

contribute to the realization of a nuclear-free Korean

Peninsula, the assurance of security for all countries in

North-East Asia and the peaceful reunification of the

two Koreas.

Over the past year, the Lao people of all ethnic

groups have pursued their national development in

unity and harmony. We are delighted that, through the

promotion of the untapped potential of all domestic

economic sectors and the expansion of cooperation

with the international community, the pace of national

economic growth has continuously increased; the

livelihood of the people, particularly those in the rural

areas, has been further improved; and, last but not

least, political stability and social order have been

ensured and strengthened.

In order to free the country from

underdevelopment, apart from our domestic effort, we

have attached great importance to the achievements

made in our increased effort to implement the regional

integration of the Association of South-East Asian

Nations (ASEAN). We highly value the continued

development of cooperation between ASEAN and the

People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of

Korea, India and other dialogue partners. Furthermore,

we are pleased with the new chapter in the

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strengthening of cooperation between ASEAN and the

United States, in particular the signing of the bilateral

trade agreement between the Governments of the Lao

People’s Democratic Republic and the United States in

Vientiane on 19 September this year. In this regard, I

wish to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to

friendly countries and international organizations for

the invaluable assistance and support rendered to the

cause of our national development.

As it enters this new century, humankind has a

strong aspiration for peace and cooperation for

development across the globe. In accordance with the

Charter and international law, we should exert our

collective efforts to build a better world. In this spirit,

our delegation once again calls for cooperation and

unity in designing and implementing action-oriented

measures to tackle the challenges and problems

plaguing our planet. If we do this, future generations

will commend us for all our efforts in establishing

conditions for their peaceful lives and prosperity.