UN General Assembly
2001

and international levels to the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In the final years of the twentieth century, great changes took place in the world, which led to new international trends, especially in terms of the process of globalization and threats to international peace and security. The developing countries, such as my own, began adapting their national structures to deal with the demands of a decidedly competitive environment. However, it must be said that it is obvious that the adjustments and changes those countries have made to their policies and strategies are not enough in themselves to achieve complete results as long as the structural causes of the disparity between the level of development of highly industrialized economies and that of economies in need of capital and advanced technology persist. That disparity continues to widen because of financial difficulties caused by unstable short-term capital flows, persistent external debt and obstacles to truly international trade. There are signs that current international economic trends are far from providing the equilibrium and justice needed to overcome the unfavourable