Though this has meant inconsolable grief for our families, it has also certainly, contributed to exalting the honour of our people, civilian or military, as they contribute alongside the fraternal peoples of Africa to the objective of peacekeeping. But this is not all that binds us to the African continent.

Equally moved by the destruction left by hurricane Georges in its passage through the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and other Caribbean territories and the southern United States, I wish to express the solidarity of the people and the Government of Guatemala with those who suffered economic losses and the inconsolable pain of the loss of human lives.