UN General Assembly
1951

216. The kind of progress in social and economic development which I have tried to describe above may appear rather small by other standards. Yet such progress required the marshalling of all the energy that such an African State could muster. With all the goodwill in the world, it is inconceivable that the great industrialized nations which have a programme of rearmament to follow, at the expense of the risk of lowering the standard of living of their own peoples, should be expected, on however advantageous terms, to render, effectively, their co-operation in the cultural, economic and social development of the less-developed countries. 217. The purpose of mentioning Ethiopia’s efforts is merely to indicate the conditions which Ethiopia has in common with African and Middle and Far Eastern countries, and the necessity for peaceful conditions for the fruition of their vast social and economic programmes.