small, more remote and archipelagic IDCs were very inadequate. He furthermore underlined the acute scarcity of skilled manpower and institutional weaknesses in many of the IDCs. 7. With respect to the measures required to alleviate the problems which IDCs faced, he noted that such assistance should take into account the special characteristics of IDCs, in particular the small, remote and archipelagic ones, and that the terms and conditions of aid should be flexible and the assistance procedures should be simplified. He also underlined the role which regional co-operation arrangements could play in resolving some of the problems in IDCs. C. Statements bv countries 8. The representative of Saint Lucia pointed out that the important gains made in the development process over the past 10-20 years in the IDCs should not be construed as evidence of the lack of a necessity to give IDCs particular consideration in the granting of economic and technical assistance. He noted that those gains should be seen in the context of the maxim that one should help those who help themselves. He said that in spite of those gains, the IDCs continued to face very serious development constraints. He regretted the graduation of small IDCs from the World Bank's A/CONF.147/5 TD/B/AC.46/4 page 4 soft window or into net contributor status within the UNDP programme based solely on per capita income. On the other hand he praised the UNDP policy which allowed small IDCs to become net contributors only at per capita incomes which were considerably higher than those for developing countries in general. He pointed out that the IDCs, especially the small ones, because of their small national budgets and disproportionately high administrative costs often could afford the high quality of administrators that they required. Furthermore he referred to the higher transport and communication cost which 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the challenges faced by small, remote, and archipelagic islands in development, particularly with regards to economic and technical assistance. It highlights the need for flexible and simplified assistance procedures, as well as regional cooperation, to address these challenges. The representative of Saint Lucia also raises concerns about the graduation of small islands from development programs based solely on per capita income. This suggests that the text is primarily focused on economic development and international cooperation.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade