UN General Assembly
2008

the fundamental principles of democracy, good governance and sound socio-economic policies. At the beginning of this decade, Nauru was at the brink of total economic collapse. Much has been achieved to improve our economy and to address the resulting social problems. That has been accomplished by implementing a range of fiscal, economic and governance reforms. I am happy to say that Nauru today has stabilized. We are now at the beginning of a rebuilding phase in our history. However, I say this with a degree of caution and regard for the fragility of our situation. 19 08-51839 In order to secure Nauru’s recovery and to ensure rebuilding and development, we will need ongoing assistance from our development partners. We need coordinated assistance targeted at our priorities and in line with our strategies so that we may fulfil our promise for a better quality of life for my people. Nauru appreciates the financial and material assistance from our development partners, in particular Australia, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand and the European Union. We appeal for such cooperation to be