UN General Assembly
1992

On behalf of the Government and people of Papua New Guinea, I should like to congratulate you. Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. Your personal presence in this Hall, and your unanimous election to preside over our proceedings, are symbolic not only of the stirring changes which have been occurring in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, but of the manner in which they have been welcomed around the world. In offering you my delegation's greetings, cooperation and support, I should also like to pay tribute to the efficient manner in which your predecessor. Ambassador Samir Shihabi of Saudi Arabia, performed his duties. Just as your election. Sir, is symbolic of wider changes in the world, so is the presence here for the first time of delegations from States which for a period were incorporated in the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. My delegation takes very great pleasure in welcoming the membership of, and participation in the United Nations by, the nine States which were once part