UN General Assembly
2003

developed countries and to improve their participation in international trade and their share of foreign investment and other financial flows will also remain but a dream if official development assistance is not increased and international development assistance is not augmented. As I have stated on many occasions, Maldives is not simply an island nation; it is a nation of many far- flung islands covering 90,000 square kilometres of ocean. Our islands are resource-poor, and the saline soil conditions prohibit most agricultural production. Transport and communication costs are exorbitant. The scope for economic diversification is very limited. That is why we have appealed to the international community to take a closer look at our true situation before the issue of our graduation from least- developed-country status is considered by the Economic and Social Council. As I emphasized in my statement to the Assembly last year, the structural weaknesses of our economy could have grave implications for my country's development, should it be deprived of the preferential access to markets and the concessional capital that it has critically relied upon.