UN General Assembly
1992

I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your well-deserved election to guide our endeavours during this session of the General Assembly. Similarly, I extend to the Secretary-General my congratulations on his having assumed his important office at a time when the international community is going through substantial changes, and when it needs, in that high post, an experienced and brilliant diplomat such as he. He has succeeded Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, an illustrious Latin American who discharged the duties of the office with great effectiveness, as the new era required. My presence here, so soon after assuming the Presidency of my country, must be taken as a clear sign of the enormous importance we attach to the United Nations, its principles and its work, which is increasingly far-reaching and truly valuable, work that is essentially that of keeping the peace and, also, of course, bringing about the economic and social development of all the peoples on Earth. The latter task is particularly important for Ecuador, which is striving to overcome underdevelopment and achieve decent