UN General Assembly
1999

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, and your country, Namibia, on your election as President of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly. I am convinced that your experience and diplomatic skills will help this General Assembly to fulfil its important tasks. I would also like to thank the outgoing President, Mr. Didier Opertti of Uruguay, for the guidance he provided to the fifty-third session of the General Assembly. Let me also take this opportunity to warmly welcome the Republic of Nauru, the Republic of Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga, which have just joined the United Nations family. We are gathered here at the threshold not just of a new century but of a new millennium. It is appropriate, therefore, that we take advantage of this important occasion to reflect upon our situation in the world today. I speak here not of our situation as individuals or even as nations, but as a race. There are many signs of progress, and there are reasons for hope. However, the ultimate goal of world