Choummaly Sayasone

"Despite conflicts and challenges that have occurred in different parts of the world, in general, peace, security and development cooperation among all nations remain the prevailing trend of this era. This is the important achievement of the United Nations in fulfilling its mandate as stipulated in the Charter. .. Nevertheless, the international environment continues to undergo numerous challenges such as armed conflicts, terrorism, poverty and hunger, infectious diseases, climate change and natural disasters which have posed major threats to peace and development. Therefore, I am of the view that we must enhance our political will, mutual assistance and cooperation under the banner of the United Nations in order to collectively address the said challenges facing us. .. Today, conflicts have often occurred in many regions of the world such as in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe, which have caused major concerns for the international community. Therefore, it is important to find solutions and restore peace and development to those regions. .. In the era of interdependence, cooperation and engagement are the key factors for peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit. The Lao PDR, therefore, welcomes the recent re-establishment of the diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, which has opened a new chapter in the history of relations between the two countries, that had been stalled for many decades. .. Climate change and severe natural disasters, which have occurred more frequently, have caused huge impact on the development of countries, especially developing countries, including the least developed countries that are most vulnerable due to their limited infrastructure, insufficient technology, financial and human resources to respond to and address those phenomena. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the international community to help these vulnerable countries, through, among other things, building their long-term capacity to tackle such challenges. .. The Lao PDR attaches great importance to promoting and protecting human rights and has become state party to seven of the main international human rights instruments."