UN General Assembly
1996

﻿On behalf of the Government and people of Thailand, I should like to extend my warmest congratulations to Your Excellency upon your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session, which marks the beginning of the next half-century for the United Nations. I am confident that, with your leadership and guidance, this session will mark a successful beginning for the work of the United Nations in the next 50 years and in the new century. From what we have seen so far, you are already off to a good start. By insisting on beginning our meetings on time over the past three weeks and not succumbing to the traditional half-hour delay before starting the meetings, you have, in effect, prevented the wastage of both time and money for the United Nations and its Member States. This act is truly an admirable display of leadership. My delegation looks forward to seeing more such constructive initiatives in the future. As a close neighbour of Malaysia and a fellow member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations,