chairmanship of the Ad hoc Committee on outer space, I shall begin with that item. CD/PV.554 14 (Mr, Shannon, Canada ) I must say with feeling that my experience as Chairman has constituted quite an initiation into the complexities of multilateral disarmament diplomacy. On outer space there is both very little and a great deal to say. I say "very little" because, as we all know, we have spent the past three months trying first to establish the Ad hoc Committee on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space and then to find agreement on a programme and organization of work. Thus we have not been able to begin substantive work until now. On the other hand, there is a great deal to say, in the sense that the Committee has much valuable work to do in furtherance of its goal of preventing an arms race in outer space. As I mentioned at the first meeting of the Ad hoc Committee on 13 March Canada has for many years shown a strong interest in, and has contributed significant resources to, its work. It is precisely because of this that I was extremely disappointed by our collective inability to get down to substantive work during this spring session. I hope that our meetings during the summer session will contribute to greater understanding of the issues involved in the prevention of an arms race in outer space and will result in greater progress towards the goal of the Committee, a goal that is enshrined in its title. As Chairman of the Committee I indicated to it that I have a number of definite ideas as to how our work could be made more productive. I will not detail these here today, as they are well known to the Committee members. But 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a speech by a representative of Canada in a multilateral diplomatic setting, discussing the work of an Ad hoc Committee on outer space and disarmament. The language used is formal and diplomatic, indicating a focus on international relations and cooperation. The speaker mentions the prevention of an arms race in outer space, which suggests a concern for security and stability, rather than economic or environmental issues.

**Category**
Science and technology, International relations