UN General Assembly
1983

﻿ I extend to Mr. Illueca the felicitations and good wishes of Sri Lanka on his election as President of the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly. It has been my personal pleasure to have known him. His achievements, first as representative of Panama to the United Nations, then as Foreign Minister and now as his country's Vice-President, leave no doubt that this difficult session is in very good hands. The thanks of my delegation are also due to Mr. Hollai of Hungary for the admirable manner in which he conducted the thirty-seventh session as its President. I should also like to associate my delegation with those who have welcomed the State of Saint Christopher and Nevis into the United Nations. When the United Nations was first established over three decades ago the world was recovering from the ravages of the Second World War. There was then an essential unity of purpose in the determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.