UN General Assembly
1979

31. I wish to raise briefly the issue of small States in the international community. Notwithstanding our basic position that all States are equal, sovereign, independent entities, we cannot lose sight of the fact that there are significant physical, demographic and economic differences among us. The issues of small size and small scale are not incidental to the levels of development of small countries or to their significance in the conduct of international relations. Small size must be explicitly recognized as a dimension of international relations. Poverty and dependence can of course apply to both small and large States but there are some special disabilities experienced by small countries that weigh heavily in explaining their economic and social problems.