Mr President Al-Sultan,
Mr Chairman,
All members of this festival meeting,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before I give the message of the Holy Father, I want to express one point. We are celebrating today a feast day. That is very nice and when I entered in this house I have seen a lot of people. They are very open-minded and happy and it is true and really good if we are content that in this time, in this last 20 years, so many good things have been happening because so many governments of the world have opened their hearts helping each other and to construct a new world, instead of an exploitation and a bad capitalism, to share, to help the poor people to change the world in a better social structure and we hope that in future times this will be done. In our time, many are criticizing. It is true. We know all the programmes. Instead of sending help, they are selling arms. Instead of giving freedom, they are creating dictatorships and oppression. Instead that we love each other, still we have racism in a very bad way, nationalism, egoism and all the fighting, destroying development which is done by the good and open-minded, responsible people of the world.

It is wonderful that IFAD these 20 years has made extremely good way and in the recent visit audience of your President Al-Sultan to the Holy Father, he has expressed personally he has been happy that in this time 20 years ago, Pope Paul the Sixth has helped as much as he could this new structure to help for the development of the poorer and poorest countries around the world, especially, even in the rural area.

And myself representing the Holy See here, I have been always very happy because I have known this organization of IFAD many years ago before I came to Rome and I have seen a lot of very effective work. We should try to convince everybody, all the governments, to do more. The rich should not become richer and the poor should become more hopeful. A change of the unsocial situation should be encouraged. We should try to do all, should become a new friendship. In this way, I am happy to have the chance today to bring you a very cordial personal word of the Pope who has been accompanying you really because he has been visiting so many countries and has been happy about the work of coordination, cooperation in social development, education, liberation and fighting against all the forms of wars, civil war and racism and nationalism. Now I have the chance to present the words of the Holy Father:

"Mr Fawzi Al-Sultan, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, to you and all taking part in the celebrations marking the Twentieth Anniversary of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, I send cordial greetings expressing once more the Holy See's support for efforts in assuring that all people have proper access to food and nutrition. I commend IFAD for its commitment to rid humanity from the spectre of famine, to help secure a just distribution of fruits of the earth and to guarantee truly human development.

"I ask almighty God to bestow his manifold blessings upon the work of this assembly and upon the President, the Directors and the staff of IFAD and all who are participating as representatives of the countries, so that every human being may effectively share in the abundant fruits of creation. In this way, solidarity with the poorest of the poor will truly become a new and fruitful reality of public policy at every level of the world. John Paul II, Pope."

Thank you.