ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY MR. AHMED HILMY DIDI, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE, TO THE TWENTIETH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Mr. President,
It is indeed an honour and a great privilege for me to stand in this Assembly to represent the Government and the people of the Maldive Islands. My first duty on behalf of my Government and delegation is to offer grateful thanks for the warm support that was extended to the application for membership of the Maldive Islands in the United Nations Organization. I should particularly like to put on record our appreciation to the sponsors of our application for their gesture, both in the Security Council and in the General Assembly.
Ours is a very small country with extremely limited resources and comprised of minute islands scattered to the south-east of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean. In fact, we are proud to be the smallest Member of this body of nations. This has proved that whatever the size of a country or its population, a free State can make contribution to the cause of coexistence. A handful though we are, we dedicate ourselves to the principles of this world body and declare our faith in the support of the Charter of the United Nations.
The world must be made a happier place to live in: free from fear of war, poverty, disease and ignorance. The complete annihilation of these fears of mankind should be the collective aim of all nations represented in this Assembly.
We believe in peace and friendship; we need both, in quest of which our aim is to maintain good relations with all countries and peoples. We are convinced that the world needs peace now more than ever before. We are pledged to make every effort to contribute our fullest support to find peaceful solutions to the many problems that confront the world today.
In this, we would whole-heartedly cooperate to implement the resolutions and decisions of the Security Council to maintain peace the world over. We are firm in our belief that negotiation is the best instrument of settling disputes, and the United Nations the chief architect. We therefore add our appeal to all countries for a closer cooperation in pursuance of their policies towards world peace.
It is our conviction that the larger the membership of this Organization, the more powerful it would become, as it would coalesce the views of more countries and peoples, which would undoubtedly lead to universal acceptance of solutions to international problems.
Finally, I should like, on behalf of the Government and the peoples of the Maldive Islands, to thank you, Mr. Vice-President, and the distinguished representatives, for the very encouraging words of welcome and the warm reception extended to the Maldivian delegation.
