UN General Assembly
1996

It is my pleasure to congratulate Ambassador Razali on his election as President of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly. The Barbados delegation shares fully the confidence expressed in his leadership and assures him of its cooperation in the work of this Assembly. Let me also warmly commend his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, for his outstanding stewardship of the fiftieth session, including the Special Commemorative Meeting on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. That celebration, which brought together 128 Heads of State or Government, stands as a fitting memorial to the historic event. My country’s knowledge of and appreciation for the United Nations system has deepened since we had the honour to host the United Nations Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States in 1994. The Barbados Declaration and Programme 14 General Assembly 20th plenary meeting Fifty-first session 3 October 1996 of Action outlined the way forward for the relationship between small island developing States and the international community. The Barbados Conference was the first and to