assistance in its various forms has a commendable record and, until the debt crises of the 1980s, foreign finance contributed to a high level of investment and growth. Lower levels of financial assistance in the future will lead, almost entirely, to lower rates of growth and economic advance. 110. In the past, aid flow, and other kinds of public and private capital flows have also been tangible expressions of the complex web of interests - economic, political and humanitarian - that link developed and developing countries together. A long-term contraction of such flows, in the face of vast and well documented investment needs, especially for infrastructure which does not lend itself to direct private investment, would be confirmation that development co-operation now receives low priority. 111. This will have fundamental conseauences for development strategy. Unless real progress is made in dismantling protectionism, the temptation to return to more inward-looking policies in developing countries will be strong. The potential for trade among developing countries has been substantially enlarged by the rapid industrialization of many of them, and South-South trade may come to play a greater role than it has in the past, complementing though not replacing North-South trade. -23- III. IDENTIFICATION OF THE LEAST DEVELOPED AMONG THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 112. The Economic and Social Council, in resolution 1984/58 of 26 July 1984, and the General Assembly, in resolution 39/198 of 17 December 1984, reauested the Committee for Development Planning to consider the eligibility of Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, respectively, for inclusion in the list of the least developed countries. 113. The Secretariat provided the Committee with the data needed to update the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) criterion. Given changes in prices and real growth of per capita GDP in world market economies from the three-year average of 1970-1972 to the 1980-1982 period, the new adjusted lower and upper cut-off points 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the impact of foreign finance on economic development, highlighting the importance of assistance in various forms to achieve high levels of investment and growth. It also touches on the issue of trade among developing countries and the potential consequences of a long-term contraction of public and private capital flows. The text does not mention natural resources, environment, agriculture, forestry, fishing, industry, transport, communication, health, education, employment, or humanitarian aid and relief specifically. The focus is on economic development and international trade.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade