OUMAR DAOU ( Mali ), described the current General Assembly as an opportune moment to tackle burning issues that were affecting the international community, to share worries about global challenges and to try and find durable solutions that were in line with peoples’ profound aspirations.  He went on to say that the global economic and financial crisis that erupted last year had spared no country but had severely weakened the economies of fragile States, especially within Africa.  Also, fluctuating food and petrol prices had reduced revenue and increased inflation in a number of such countries.
Current economic, food and environmental crises had plunged hundreds of millions of people into poverty.  To solve the global financial and economic crisis, it was crucial to make the international monetary system more democratic, by including the concerted efforts of developed and developing countries for a durable outcome.  It was also crucial to revive global development partnerships, to ensure conditions for poverty reduction, better health care and education, and gender equality, in line with the Millennium Development Goals.
Still, he cautioned, a lot remained to be done to attain those goals, despite progress made by developing countries.  He pointed out that donor countries, international financial institutions and development organizations had to pay attention to landlocked developing countries like Mali, since their geographical isolation made it extremely difficult for them to aspire to economic growth and social well-being within a global economy.
Turning to climate change, he said it was one of the planet’s biggest challenges, and urged the international community to intensify efforts towards a global solution at the forthcoming Copenhagen climate summit.  Next, he said peace and security were indispensable to all development processes, and drew the Assembly’s attention to the forthcoming conference in Bamako on peace, security and development in the Sahel-Sahara region.  He also acknowledged progress in African Union-led efforts towards peace and reconstruction.