Address by The Honourable Nickolas Steele,  Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Business of Grenada at The General Debate of The 69 Th Regular Session of The   UN General Assembly

Mr. Secretary General, Fellow Leaders, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. 

Mr. President, let me first of all thank the outgoing President John Ashe, for his sterling efforts in presiding over the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in a year that was designated for
island states around the world.  Let me also congratulate you and welcome you as incoming President of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.  Mr. President, you can count on Grenada’s support to contribute to the deliberations in a positive and meaningful way.

As we gather here in New York yet again, we can celebrate a remarkable history of our institution in this beautifully refurbished UN Headquarters.  Mr. President, I wish to put on record, Grenada’s appreciation of the donors’ contributions and the Secretary General’s leadership of this project. With its large open spaces and glass façade, the building’s design speaks to our ideals of transparency, openness and dialogue.  The building’s mid-20th Century features recalls the spirit of an age where space was the new frontier. The space age has given way to a new and exciting information age.  Today, a young girl armed with a Smart Phone in Gujarat, India, can Google the same satellite images of our planet as a child in Great Britain.
Exposed to the right ideas on the internet, children – whether from Greenboro, USA, Grenoble in France or Grenada in the Caribbean -- can have the same seeds of hope; the same aspirations
for happiness and personal growth; and the same sense of duty towards neighborhood and planet.  For aspiring young people everywhere, a coming of age is symbolized by ownership, not of a car, but of a mobile phone or a computer tablet.  These are today’s vehicles on the information highway for the world’s youth seeking ideas, identity, and connectedness. 

Mr. President, we come to the United Nations today to feel that sense of connectedness amid the chaos of today’s challenges.  We come to these refurbished headquarters to renew our
commitment to peace and security; and to revitalize our mission -- not to the stars – but a mission towards a safer planet with shared prosperity for all.