Remarks by
H.E. Mr. Tassos Papadopoulos
President of the Republic of Cyprus
at the World Leaders Meeting 

for the Fight Against Poverty and Hunger

 of the General Assembly of the United Nations
New York , 20 September 2004

Mr. Chairman,

I wish to first and foremost, congratulate you and the Presidents of France and Chile and the Prime Minister of Spain, and of course the Secretary-General of the UN on this initiative to confront poverty and hunger, the most elusive and recurrent plights of humanity today. We consider this event to be significant because it constitutes a fresh approach in challenging these long-standing problems and pursuing an action-oriented strategy.

Our inability thus far, to appropriately respond to the challenge of development is indicative of the urgent need to go beyond boldly stating our intentions, and proceed with establishing mechanisms that can rapidly yield tangible results on the ground. We are cognisant of the interdependent nature of the root causes of all deficits outlined in the Millennium Declaration. However, what is crucial in our offensive against poverty and hunger in particular, is to determine a starting point and seek customised solutions through innovative financing, better coordination and new resources.

We should seize President Lula’ s initiative, which has been so generously embraced by so many prominent world leaders, to prove that our actions can ensure that all humans will have the minimum means of subsistence and nobody shall perish as a result of malnutrition or starvation anymore. My Government shares the rationale behind this initiative as well as the principles that inspired it. We support the suggested course of action in the Draft Final Declaration before us, and stand ready to play our part in pursuing this momentous endeavour.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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