UN General Assembly
1998

May I first congratulate the President on his election to the presidency of the fifty- third session of the General Assembly and wish him every success in this important position. I would also like to thank his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, and praise him for the tireless energy he devoted to pushing through reform steps in the Organization. The Assembly is meeting at a time when the world is troubled by many major problems. Let me mention seven which I regard as crucial. The collapse of stock markets around the world, triggered by the Asian and Russian crises, shows how vulnerable national economies are in our increasingly globalized economy. Recent nuclear tests conducted by States not parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) have jeopardized the progress made in arms control and non-proliferation since the end of the cold war, progress which is vital if global peace is to be achieved. We have not yet been able to end wars in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world — including Europe,