UN General Assembly
2013

I am pleased to join previous speakers in congratulating the President on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty- eighth session. I thank our outgoing President for his excellent leadership. Allow me also to extend my respect and gratitude to the Secretary-General for his untiring commitment to the mission and ideals of the United Nations. Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the international community has supported the principle that the best form of development is one that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Since that time, however, production and consumption patterns have become increasingly unsustainable, driven primarily by a desire to develop economies at any cost. The Federated States of Micronesia has therefore proposed the following approach to global development beyond 2015. First, any post-2015 development agenda must move beyond addressing basic human needs and focus on sustainable development. Secondly, in order to ensure that sustainable development is carried out