connection, reference is made to the United States-Canada free trade agreement, the unification of Western Europe into one unique economic super-Power by 1992, the emergence of Japan as an industrial giant and, last but not least, the revolutionary economic transformation in the centrally planned economies of the USSR, Eastern Europe and China. On the other hand, and despite the recovery in some countries in South and East Asia, the developing countries bore the brunt of the decline in qrowth durinq the 1980s, with the result that the income qap between the developed and the developinq countries has widened as never before. The process of development has entailed major setbacks for a large number of developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Large segments of the continent's population are worse off now than they were at the beginning of the decade. Efforts to bring about socio-economic structural changes have been frustrated by such factors as the collapse in the prices of Africa's primary commodities, mounting external indebtedness and inadequate net flows of external resources. Adverse weather conditions resulting in severe and persistent drought and increasing desertification have compounded the difficulties. This situation is particularly disturbing in the light of long-term projections that remain pessimistic. The external-debt problem of the developing countries cannot be overemphasized. The debt problem has emerged as a principal cause of the economic stalemate of these countries, impeding their economic growth and development. The BCT/dl A/S-18/PV. 4 143 (Mr. Thoahlane, Lesotho) debt crisis is rooted in long-standing structural relationships of dependency and inequality in the world economy. A drop in commodity prices generally and worsening terms of trade between the developing world and the advanced industrial countries are some of the factors which have led to the crisis. Many developing countries, including my own, have been forced to take drastic 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the global economic situation, highlighting the widening income gap between developed and developing countries, the debt crisis of the latter, and the impact of adverse weather conditions on their development. It also touches on the long-term projections and structural relationships of dependency and inequality in the world economy. These themes suggest that the text is primarily concerned with economic issues.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade