UN General Assembly
2009

contribute to the understanding of and resolution of international crises. This is what President Treki has called on us to do through the theme of this sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly, “Effective responses to global crises: strengthening multilateralism and dialogue among civilizations for international peace, security and development”. We note that, in addition to recurrent political crises, the acute crises facing the world today affect the stability of nations and jeopardize our shared future. In 2008, the energy crisis reached unprecedented proportions. The price of a barrel of oil, it will be recalled, rose to nearly $150. That major crisis took place alongside a food crisis and an unprecedented financial crisis that soon turned into a deep economic crisis. The entire world woke up to the threat posed to social and political equilibrium by the three crises that struck at the same time. These crises shook all our certainties and caused a wave of panic. They showed us in no uncertain terms that nothing can ever be taken for granted, even in big countries.