UN General Assembly
1982

37. The developing countries, which for so long have striven for the principle of permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, today face the new challenge of maintaining sovereignty over their own economic space. That does not mean, however, that the developing countries should oppose or show lack of interest in greater interaction at the international level, with respect to the flows of capital and technology and even operations of multinational corporations. Quite the contrary. It is undeniable that the vast majority of developing countries, beginning with those which have a clear Western identity, such as Brazil, but including others with a different political- economic organization—aim at improving and diversifying their links with the developed West, which is a valuable source of the factors of production necessary for their development. 38. The preservation and strengthening of the national economic space of those countries will not hamper the expansion of the international economic system, but will rather be a factor in the broadening of the global economic space, for the benefit of us all.