UN General Assembly
1980

162. My delegation notes with special pleasure the efforts within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to transform the Special Fund into a bank to assist the developing countries. We note also the initiatives in the World Bank to strengthen its facilities for assisting developing countries with the exploration and development of their indigenous energy resources. 163. But we must face squarely the question whether these efforts by themselves, commendable as they are, really address the fundamental issues of energy and development. The answer is clear and the prospects are not reassuring. Surely it must be the classic contradiction of our time that over $500 billion of the world's resources are annually devoted to the manufacture of arms, while the central banks in the oil-importing developing countries struggle to survive the economic dislocations caused by their accumulated balance-of-payments^ deficit, now running at $50 billion. And, while this situation persists, our countries are forced to reduce imports of food, fertilizer, drugs and vital raw materials to well below minimum required levels.