co-operation. BHS/td A/S-18/PV.3 27 Mr. De MICHELIS (Italy): Our meeting in New York is crucial for the future of a planet that has been trying for 2, 000 years to develop a strategy to make itself habitable for all. There are many factors that lend special significance to this session. First of all, we are called upon to review a general development strategy at the conclusion of a decade that has witnessed the failure of many worthy aspirations and intentions and has been unable to rescue the four. fifths of mankind still trapped in substandard and, more often than not, intolerable living conditions. We will have to take stock of the progress made thus far and find ways and means of confronting the new challenges. Secondly, extraordinary changes on the European continent are continuing to unfold before our very eyes. For the first time, Europe is beginning to recover the unity shattered by the October Revolution, which led to a rift that was widened by the creation of conflicting political and economic systems after the Second World War. Today, even in What was only recently a separate Eastern Europe, we are seeing a return to a market economy and democracy and the re-emergence of an economic area based on responsibility, private initiative, a spirit of adventure and social solidarity. However, now that what has often been termed the "third world war" has come to an end on the old continent, we would not wish to see a new conflict arising with the less developed countries. We must dispel their fears that the last decade of the century could be even worse for them than was the previous one. Indeed, it must be better. It would be illusory to believe that the problem of development 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the importance of cooperation in addressing global challenges, specifically the development of a planet habitable for all. It highlights the need to learn from the failures of the past decade and adapt to new challenges. The text also touches on the reunification of Europe and the potential for conflict between Europe and less developed countries. Overall, the text seems to be focused on the broader issues of economic development and international cooperation.

**Category**
Economic development, Humanitarian aid and relief