Please Allow me at the outset to congratulate you, Mr. President, on assuming the Presidency of the General Assembly. I wish to assure you of India’s full cooperation in the conduct of the sixty-sixth session of the Assembly.

It is also my great pleasure to welcome in our midst the new State of South Sudan.

We meet at this session of the United Nations General Assembly at a time of great uncertainty and profound change.

Till a few years ago the world had taken for granted the benefits of globalization and global interdependence. Today we are being called upon to cope with the negative dimensions of those very phenomena. Economic, social and political events in different parts of the world have coalesced together and their adverse impact is now being felt across countries and continents.

The world economy is in trouble. The shoots of recovery which were visible after the economic and financial crisis of 2008 have yet to blossom. In many respects the crisis has deepened even further.

The traditional engines of the global economy – countries such as the United States, Europe and Japan, which are also the sources of global economic and financial stability, are today faced with continued economic slowdown. Recessionary trends in these countries are affecting confidence in world financial and capital markets.

These developments are bound to have a negative impact on developing countries which also have to bear the additional burden of inflationary pressures.

Declining global demand and availability of capital, increasing barriers to free trade and mounting debt pose a threat to the international monetary and financial system. Questions are being asked about the efficacy of the Bretton Woods institutions.

There has been unprecedented social and political upheaval in West Asia, the Gulf and North Africa. People of these regions are demanding the right to shape their own future. Energy and food prices are once again spiraling and introducing fresh instability, especially for developing countries.

The Palestinian question still remains unresolved and a source of great instability and violence. India is steadfast in its support for the Palestinian people`s struggle for a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognizable borders side by side and at peace with Israel. We look forward to welcoming Palestine as an equal member of the United Nations.

Terrorism continues to rear its ugly head and take a grievous toll of innocent lives.