approach and common interests. Such relations would aim at strengthening the bonds of interdependence and co-operation among countries to oonfront the challenges facinq them in various fields. The world economy, and especially the economies of the developing countries, have suffered a ma1rked decline in the rate of growth during the 1980s. Data indicate that the majority of developing countries registered a slump in their rate of qrowth and per· ~::api ta income durinQ that decade. This was due mainly to external factors and to various internal factors that can be traced back to the deflationary fiscal and monetary policies pursued by the industrialized countries, to natural disasters, drouqht and desertification, to reqional oonflicts, to the huge deficit in the United States balance of payments, to fluctuations in exchange rates and the rise in interest rates to unprecedented levels, to the sharp decline in comnodi ty prices, includinq oil, and, lastly, to the intensification of the discriminatory and protectionist policies pursued by the industrialized nations. BHS/td A/S-18/PV.6 52 (Mr. Al-Shakar, Bahrain) Those policies and factors led to the deterioration of the terms of trade of the developing countries, to a decline in their export earnings, to larger deficits in their balance of payments, to an aggravation of the burden of their foreign debt and debt servicing, as well as to a rise in their rates of inflation. Such consequences forced the developing countries to adopt deflationary and austerity policies and resort to international financial markets for borrowing at exorbitant costs. It is no exaggeration to say that, for the developing countries, the 1980s represent years of economic setbacks, and have been described as a decade lost for development. The sharp deterioration in the external economic environment led the developing countries to pursue structural adjustment policies that were 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the economic situation of developing countries in the 1980s, highlighting the challenges they faced due to external and internal factors, and the consequences of these challenges on their economy. The text mentions economic indicators such as growth rate, inflation, and foreign debt, as well as policies and events that affected the economy. This suggests that the category should be related to economics.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade