UN General Assembly
2000

heads of State and Government in New York, which paved the way for the pursuit of our common vision and security into the twenty-first century. Beyond the millennium celebrations, this is a time for reflection and looking ahead. The Millennium Summit took place on the eve of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Papua New Guinea's independence. The same anniversary also marks the first quarter century of my country's membership of the United Nations. It is therefore an apt occasion both for reflecting on experience and for looking ahead. My particular focus is on the changing character of, need for and potential for international cooperation. The conjunction of the millennium with Papua New Guinea's silver anniversary invites us to take a number of different time perspectives: the short, medium and long terms. For those of us who have been privileged to play an active part in public life during this period, it also provides the opportunity to compare the ambitions we had 25 years ago with the challenges we face now. As the Secretary-General recently reminded us in