the develoPed countries. Their decisions and policies are reflected in the erratic fluctuations of interest rates, exchanqe rates and financial flows. It is also they that set the prices for our raw materials, which are too low, and their manufactured qoods, usually mad:! from those raw materials. All this has contributed to marqinalizinq the developinq countries, which are now relegated to the periphery of the world's economic system. Although it is true that the develoPment of those countries depends Primarilv on themselves, it is equally true that development is possible onlv in a more Propitious international economic climate and with sufficient suppart from our developed partners. There is too often a tendency to attribute the difficulties of the develoPinq countries to poor internal nanaqement. Such an analysis is, to say the least, incomplete. There is a sayinq in our country that one cannot hide the sun with one's hand. In three years COte d'Ivoire has lost nearly $9 billion as a result of the drastic fall, decided upon in London and elsewhere, in the prices of its products. As the President of the African Development Bank noted in an analysis he qave during this special session of the qrave, unprecedented economic crisis afflictinq Africa, in "Cote d'Ivoire ••• the decline in cocoa and coffee prices resulted in a 30 per cent fall in 1989 export Proceeds and adversely affected the countrv 's economic and political stability. Can one reasonably expect these countries to Plan or proqramme effectively in such circumstances?" {A/S-18/PV. 4, P. 167) JrP6/jl A/S-18/PV.lO 13 (Mr~ Essy; cOte d'Ivoirel To that last loss we must add a haemorrhaqinq of hard currency, which for most develoPinQ countries means a net transfer of resources to the developed countries totallinq about $30 billion a year. It is a Marshall Plan in reverse. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the economic struggles of developing countries, specifically the impact of external factors such as interest rates, exchange rates, and prices of raw materials and manufactured goods on their development. It highlights the loss of revenue due to price fluctuations and the transfer of resources to developed countries. The text also touches on the need for international cooperation and support for development.

**Category**
International trade, Economic development