transfer exceeds $200 billion as a result of, amonq other thinqs, the huqe volume of its foreign debt. Since 1982 the region has lost between 4 and 5 per cent of its gross national product per vear. The United Nations should continue to encourage conceptual progress in this field ai ned at making the international financial communi tv and the creditor banks aware that the revitalization of developing economies depends to a larqe extent on the solution of this problem. The special session is an excellent opportunitv for the international communi tv to decide collectively to tell the world that solutions must be sought diligently to put an end, over the short-term, to this scourqe which day after day eats away at the standard of living of our peoples. The second element we find of extreme concern is the low index of participation of our countries in direct investments at the world level. Since the beqinninq of the foreiqn debt c·risis, Latin American and Caribbean Participation declined from 13 per cent during the 1977-1981 period to 5.3 per cent in the 1986-1987 period. Durinq the last decade private investment has been aimed at hiqhlv industrialized nations. It is a paradox that, while we are advised to make domestic adjustments to adapt our economies to the international economic situation, caPital flow is increasingly concentrated in the developed world. At the beginning of the 1970s developinq countries received over 50 per cent of foreign investment. Chanqes in the international system and in the policies of major private institutions have determined that currently 80 per cent of foreiqn investment is mobilized within the industrialized world, and only 20 per cent is directed towards developing nations. To make matters worse, most of that 20 per cent is concentrated on very few developing countries. RH/12 A/S-18/PV. 8 54-55 (Mr. Paolillo, Uruguay) 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the economic situation of Latin America and the Caribbean, specifically the large foreign debt and its impact on the region's standard of living, as well as the low participation of these countries in direct investments at the world level. The issues mentioned are related to economic development, international trade, and finance.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade