Guinea

Madam President of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly,

Mr. Secretary-General,

Ladies and gentlemen Heads of Delegation,

It is an honor and a privilege for me to speak from this universal podium on behalf of His Excellency President Mamadi Doumbouya, President of the Republic of Guinea, Head of State.

On this solemn occasion, he has charged me with conveying his warm congratulations to Ms. Annalena Baerbock on her brilliant election to the presidency of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, and with assuring her of the full support of the Republic of Guinea throughout her term.

In saluting the constant efforts of Mr. António Guterres for world peace, we also pay tribute to Mr. Philémon Yang for the remarkable work accomplished during the 79th session.

The Republic of Guinea, whose voice we have the honor of carrying, fully identifies with the theme of this session: "Better Together: more than 80 years in the service of peace, development and human rights."

In our national context, this theme takes on particular resonance: "better together" through refoundation. After more than 66 years of independence, peace, living together, development, and human rights are becoming a reality in Guinea.

I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to receive the fraternal greetings of the sovereign people of Guinea, of its President, and of its Government.

Speaking from this very podium two years ago, President Doumbouya affirmed: "My country continues to place its hope in the United Nations to find suitable solutions to the questions our world faces. But the fundamentals that guided the creation of our organization must adapt to the profound changes in our society."

That hope, unfortunately, is tending to give way to concern. For it is now evident that the world is in upheaval, and no continent is spared:

• peace is becoming a luxury,
• wars and conflicts are becoming commonplace,
• international and regional organizations are weakening,
• and alliances too often depend on the will of whoever happens to be in power.

At this rate, we must have the courage to admit that the finest years of our common organization may well be behind us.

Ladies and gentlemen,

There is an indissoluble link between peace, development, and human rights. We pay tribute to the men and women who, all over the world, fight for peace, but we must acknowledge that the mere denunciation of atrocities remains too often the ultimate level of action taken by the international community.

Moreover, nature, once assaulted by humankind, is now inflicting upon us the most dramatic consequences:

• the shrinking of arable land,
• the worsening of droughts,
• the increasing frequency of floods,
• heat that has become ever more unbearable.

These realities must call out to us and push us toward a profound reckoning.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The well-being of the people and living together are the true synonyms of peace. This is what President Doumbouya has already affirmed by making this priority the guiding principle of his action.

Thanks to its rigor and its consistency, Guinea has reconciled with itself and is advancing courageously along the path of development.

In affirming the end of an unbalanced and unjust era in which Africa had no say, President Doumbouya has chosen to fully assume national sovereignty:

• First, our mining sovereignty, through the withdrawal of several permits that did not comply with the texts and laws, notably the Mining Code of the Republic of Guinea;
• But also our intellectual sovereignty, through the transformation of our education system and the promotion of excellence.

It is in this spirit that the Simandou Academy initiative was born, which offers the country's top-performing students the opportunity to study at the best schools in the world, under the best conditions, in order to give Guinea the human capital it needs for its development.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We know, better than anyone, the price of peace and the cost of underdevelopment. This is what justified, in the recent past, our Defense and Security Forces taking on responsibility to prevent our country from collapsing.

Today, in a methodical approach turned toward the future, President Mamadi Doumbouya has launched the SIMANDOU 2040 program, built around five strategic pillars:

1. Agriculture, the food industry, and trade: the engine of our growth;
2. Education and culture: the foundation of our future;
3. Infrastructure, transport, and new technologies: to better connect our country;
4. Economy, finance, and insurance: to guarantee our financial sovereignty;
5. Health and well-being: a national priority.

The Simandou project, home to the largest iron ore deposit in the world, will contribute significantly to the decarbonization of the planet thanks to the exceptional quality of its ore (65%). To ensure the sustainability of the program, a sovereign fund will be established, financed by Simandou's revenues, complemented by other conventional mechanisms.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Allow me to recall once again the words of a great African leader who declared from this very podium, and I quote:

"Very clearly, without hypocrisy, without pretense, looking each other in the eye, we are all aware that this democratic model that you so insidiously and skillfully imposed on us after the La Baule summit in France, almost religiously, does not work. The various economic and social indicators are there to prove it. This is not a value judgment on democracy itself. It is an assessment. An observation drawn from several decades of chaotic experimentation with this model in our environment. A period in which the only concern was political jousting, to the detriment of what matters most: the economy."

On this note, I am pleased to announce that the Republic of Guinea has just reached a historic milestone by obtaining its first-ever sovereign rating, rated "B+ with a STABLE outlook" by Standard & Poor's (S&P)!

Thanks to the vision and leadership of His Excellency the President of the Republic, General Mamadi Doumbouya, Guinea is today crossing a major threshold with this international recognition.

This rating now places Guinea as the 2nd economic power in French-speaking West Africa and opens the way to more favorable and competitive access to international capital markets.

For the Republic of Guinea, respect for human rights means recognizing the inherent dignity of every person and applying the principles and standards that protect these rights, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, its application around the world remains uneven, depending on regions, actors, contexts, and interests.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In coming here, President Doumbouya has charged us with reaffirming his sincere commitment to the theme of this session. He attaches primary importance to peace, development, and human rights.

Madam President,

In seeking to give our country a constitution that reflects and unites us, a process of consultation and inclusiveness was undertaken. It was certainly long, but useful and necessary given our history.

We are pleased to announce from this podium that the draft constitution submitted to the people by referendum was adopted by a very large majority.

Since yesterday, 26 September 2025, following its promulgation by the Head of State, the Republic of Guinea now has a constitution that marks its return to the constitutional order so eagerly awaited by our people and by the international community.

Thank you for your kind attention.