unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (10/11/89)
SECOND COMMITTEE HEARS 13 SPEAKERS ON WORLD ECONOMIC SITUATION
Posting Date: 10/09/89 Copyright UNITEX Communications, 1989
UNITEX Network, USA ISSN: 1043-7932
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) continued its
debate on the world economic situation this afternoon, hearing
13 more speakers.
Statements were made by Thailand, Bolivia, Byelorussia, the
United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Chile, Albania, Cuba, Bahrain,
Libya, Greece, Israel and Trinidad and Tobago.
India also made a statement under the right of reply.
The Committee will continue the debate when it meets again at 10
a.m. on Monday, 10 October.
Committee Work Programme
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this afternoon
to continue its debate on the world economic situation.
Statements Made
PIAMSAK MILINTACHINDA (Thailand) said his Government believed in
an open multilateral trading system. Protectionism remained the
most destructive obstacle to international trade. The rules of
trade under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) must be universally observed, as they encouraged broad
competition in the global market, thereby increasing the
market's efficiency. Some States unfortunately utilized the
generalized system of preferences as political and economic
tools to coerce trading partners. Regional co-operation should
be encouraged only if it enhanced the multilateral trading
system.
The debt problem continued to plague much of the developing
world, he continued, and the international community must ensure
that appropriate measures to combat the debt crisis were taken
without delay. International co-operation was also needed to
protect the environment. At the national level, Thailand had
undertaken urgent reforestation measures and designated 1989 as
the Year of Natural Resources Preservation and Environmental
Protection. At the international level, the developed countries
and the United Nations system should provide technical and
financial assistance to developing countries.
Thailand supported the convening of the proposed United Nations
conference on environment and development in 1992, he said, as it
would contribute to the formulation of global environment
policies. He urged all States which had not done so to become
parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone
Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Depleted the
Ozone Layer.
PABLO OSSIO (Bolivia) said it was increasingly clear that the
large part of the world euphemistically referred to as the
developing world, was not the master of its destiny nor did it
take part in the process of deciding its fate. For instance,
when interest rates went up by one point in the United States,
the Latin American foreign debt increased by more than $4
billion. The catalogue of contradictions and injustices was
very long, and the dialogue in the Committee would never be able
to cover it all and correct all imbalances. That did not mean
that the dialogue was useless; he was just stating the truth.
Economic affairs were an increasingly global and interdependent
phenomenon, he went on. Thus, how could one explain the
increasing imbalances between a world which was small but
prosperous and another much bigger and increasingly poor? he
asked. He hoped the special session of the General Assembly on
international co-operation for the purpose of revitalizing
economic growth would find the answer to that question.
He reviewed the measures taken by his Government in terms of
economic adjustment, and said Bolivia had achieved economic
stability. A free marketing system was in operation in the
country. However, Bolivia had not been able to solve its basic
problems. He suggested that the Committee discuss later the
concept of co-operation with dignity, meaning co-operation in
which conditions to benefit the donors would not be imposed on
the receivers of aid. Finally, he stressed the direct
relationship between environment and poverty and said his
country took good care of its environment
OLEG N. PASHKEVICH (Byelorussia) said the reactivation of
international relations opened up a real possibility for finding
joint solutions to major global problems. The
internationalization of economic issues meant States would have
to approach problems together, and more active use should be
made of multilateral co-operation machinery. The world system
of economic relations should be based on democratic principles
and exclude measures of economic pressure such as
protectionism. The present development of the world economy was
characterized by instability and unfairness, particularly towards
the developing countries whose social and economic development
was affected by external indebtedness. The developed countries
should provide access to high technology, which was the only
basis for economic self-sufficiency.
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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