UN General Assembly
1997

African region is not benefiting from the global foreign direct investment boom. The 33 sub-Saharan countries that are classified among the least developed countries are in fact receiving less that 1 per cent of the total foreign direct investment for Africa. It is vital that these countries be provided with greater assistance and investment and be given special attention by the international community. Otherwise, they will be further marginalized, with the risk of disappearing from the world economic map. We therefore wish this Assembly to give more attention to the development needs of the African continent. In this context, we welcome the recent special ministerial meeting of the Security Council, which has helped focus the attention of the international community on Africa. After several years of complacency and stagnation, there is now cause for some optimism. We agree that it is incumbent upon us Africans to put our house in order. But unless we are freed from our debt burden, future generations may never have the opportunity to have access to clean drinking water, health