its 1st plenary meeting, held on 23 April 1990, I now call upon the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Michael Camdessus. Mr; CAMDESSUS (International Monetary Fund (IMF)) (interpretation from French): It is a great privilege for me to be associated with these deliberations. First allow me to say that I understand, and to a great extent share, the concern which has motivated the Assembly throughout its work here. How, JSM/bg A/S-18/PV. 9 69- 70 (Mr. Camdessus, IMF ) indeed, can we not be concerned when we are made aware of the opportunities of the 1990s and see so many elements coming into play which could pish the developing countries - indeed, an entire continent, Africa - towards marginalization? Before doing something about it, let us begin by identifying what has given rise to this concern: that is, the many problems we must face. First, there is the rather disappointing record of the 1980s, which has often been expounded before the Assembly. I shall therefore not go into details but merely say that, while indeed disappointing, it was a decade of contrasts: to situations of quasi-stagnation and even tragic recession was -juxtaposed the sparkling success of others who had consistently followed judicious policies. Also, there was the persistence of major causes of the failure of the 1980s: inflation, the debt burden and protectionism. These scourges continue to threaten us. BHS/bg A/S-18/PV. 9 71 (Mr. Camdessus, IMF ) Last, some aspects of the most recent events add to our concerns; the developments concerning the rise in interest rates, the development of world trade and the terms of trade, a drying up of commercial finance, or at least the growing reluctance of commercial banks to give loans to countries encountering difficulty. These are facts. However, are there elements in today's situation that would allow us to 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a speech by the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, discussing the challenges and concerns faced by developing countries, particularly Africa, in the 1990s. The speaker mentions issues such as economic stagnation, debt burden, inflation, protectionism, and changes in global trade and finance. This suggests that the category should be related to economic development, international trade, and finance.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade