UN General Assembly
2002

﻿Mr. President, on behalf of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, I would like to congratulate you on your election to the Presidency of the fifty- seventh session of the General Assembly. We are confident that your experience and wisdom, already well-proven, will ensure the success of this session. I would also like to thank your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, for his able guidance of the work of the last session. Also, I would like to congratulate the Swiss Confederation and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on their admission to membership in the United Nations. I would also like to congratulate most warmly our United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and the United Nations staff for their excellent work in promoting the noble goals of this Organization. We note with satisfaction the significant activities and the commendable international conferences held this past year, primarily the United Nations Conference on HIV/AIDS in New York, the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. Such international conferences have placed the