UN General Assembly
1980

35. In addition to the moral dimension that should motivate the giver of aid, there is the more emphatic consideration of self-interest. The interdependence of the world economies is such that if the poor falter, they will not be able to buy the goods of the rich. The poverty of the poor— which in many cases they have learned to live with—will inevitably pull down the rich as well. 36. There is also the continuing anomaly that confronts us of aid flows being reduced while defence expenditures increase. In the light of third world poverty, the difference between annual global military expenditure, now approaching $450 billion, and official development assistance of some $20 billion can only be termed outrageous. 37. This means not only money but also the diversion of real resources, such as manpower in the form of scientists and engineers, and of the most modern technologies which could otherwise be used in the solution of the problems constraining growth in the less developed world.