I must offer thanks to your patron .

With those words, I thank everyone for their presence.

I wish to thank the members of the Assembly for their cooperation and patience.

They took exceptional security measures, for which I wish to thank them on behalf of all the Commission's members.

Mr. Mayoral (Argentina) (spoke in Spanish) I wish to thank you, Mr. President, for having convened today's debate.

I wish to thank the Security Council, as the guardian of world peace and security, for taking this honourable stand.

On this occasion, I wish to thank the Japanese Government, which has provided assistance and facilitated the participation of Iraqi experts.

I want also to thank the astonishing team who helped me to accomplish it.

1 I should like to thank the NGO representatives at the meeting for sharing their ideas and, in particular, Adrien Claude Zoller, Penny Parker and Basak Cali.

I should also like to extend my thanks to the President of the General Assembly, to the Secretary General, and to all those who contributed to the preparatory work for this international gathering.

Moreover, I would like to express my gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, for the strenuous efforts he exerted during the past session.

I would also like to thank the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Samuel Insanally, for the encouraging words addressed to my country and my delegation.

I also take this pleasant opportunity warmly to thank the Republic of Mauritius for its generous offer to host that important conference.

I also wish to express my thanks to the Legal Counsel, Mr. Hans Corell, whose dedicated efforts provided an invaluable contribution during the final stages of the negotiations.

Also, I would like also to thank Mr. Ian Tudor for his work in the OPCW he was central in facilitating the participation of Iraqi experts in these seminars.

The President (interpretation from French) I should like to thank the President of the International Court of Justice, Judge Bedjaoui, and his colleagues who are present today.

The President (interpretation from French) On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of Romania for the statement he has just made.

Mr. De La Sablière (France) (spoke in French) I would like at the outset to thank Mr. Egeland and to tell him how thankful we are for his commitment to the humanitarian cause and to the African continent.

I express our gratitude to Under Secretary General Egeland and Mr. Jacques Forster, Vice President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, for their important briefings on the issue this morning.

I would also like to thank him for his commitment to the cause of peace and security throughout the world, and more specifically, in my country, Burundi.

The PRESIDENT On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the State of Eritrea for the statement he has just made.

The PRESIDENT (interpretation from French) On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Burundi for the statement he has just made.

The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish) On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Paraguay for the statement he has just made.

The President On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Lithuania for the statement he has just made.

The PRESIDENT On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia for the statement he has just made.

I would also like to thank all delegations which participated in the meetings of the Open ended Working Group and the members of the Drafting Group for making my work so easy and most rewarding.

I should like here to welcome the conclusion of the electoral process in Burundi and to express thanks for the contribution made by the United Nations, the African Union and South Africa.

To every nation, every province and every community across the world that is standing with the American people in this hour of need, I offer the thanks of my nation.

Mr. Tarrisse da Fontoura (Brazil) I wish to thank Special Representative Jessen Petersen for providing us thorough information on the current situation in Kosovo.

At the same time, I should like to thank Mr. Essy apos s predecessor as President, His Excellency Ambassador Insanally, for his great personal contribution to the success of the last session of the General Assembly.

I would also like to thank His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, for his tireless efforts to strengthen the role of our international Organization.

In conclusion, I should like to express our gratitude to all States members of the Security Council for the important role it plays in the service of international peace and security.

I wish also to thank Ambassador Insanally, the President of the General Assembly at its forty eighth session, for his efforts in organizing the World Hearings on Development which coincided with the preparation of the Secretary General apos s report on an agenda for development.

Mr. Bull (Liberia) I should like, on behalf of the Liberian delegation, to thank the Secretary General for his detailed report (A 49 177) on the activities of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs.

From this rostrum, I would like most solemnly to thank the international community for the support it has accorded Rwanda both with assistance in the balance of payments and with development projects.

Mr. Abdellah (Tunisia) (interpretation from Arabic) At the outset, I have the pleasure of extending my delegation apos s thanks to the Arab Republic of Egypt, for the efforts that led to the success of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

I should like to take this opportunity to thank once again the Chairman of the Sixth Committee, Ambassador Mohamed Bennouna, the other members of the Bureau and the secretariat of the Sixth Committee, as well as all representatives and colleagues for their hard work throughout the session.

Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein (Jordan) (spoke in Arabic) I should like at the outset to thank you, Mr. President, for having convened this important meeting and to express my delegation's gratitude for your efforts to advance the United Nations reform agenda.

Really, I go step by step.

I never see myself moving forward in time.

So I otters the information to you.

I'll go ahead and light the way.

Mr. AL SALEH (Kuwait) (interpretation from Arabic) Allow me at the outset to thank and congratulate the Secretariat of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) on its marvelous efforts in preparing the documentation and drawing up of the reports now before us.

Mr. LAMAMRA (Algeria) (interpretation from French) Allow me first of all to thank Mr. Hans Blix, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for his very cogent presentation to the General Assembly of the thorough and many faceted IAEA report.

We thank them all.