UN General Assembly
1995

and that action to deal with them needs to be taken in concert. Regrettably, if expectations have been great, resources for their realization have been meagre. The political determination necessary to transform commitments into action still appears far less than adequate. Despite the absence of optimal international cooperation in certain areas, some regional activities have made good progress. In our own region, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The SAARC Preferential Trade Arrangement has made much headway and is expected to enter into force this year. We look to the future confident of consolidating our gains in a South Asian free- trade arrangement. Sri Lanka, together with our South Asian partners, will explore all avenues to seek and build on common ground and optimize regional cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Indeed, cooperation within, as well as between, regions offers much scope for economic progress and equitable sharing of global wealth. We look forward to greater interregional cooperation to advance this process. Sri Lanka was privileged to have served the Review