Mathieu Kerekou

I would like to solemnly reaffirm, that poverty is not a fatality.

Poverty should not be viewed by us as a humiliation and even less so as a position of honour or a fatality.

Whether we are poor among the poorest, or less poor among the wealthier, let us stand proud and noteworthy, united and strong, comforted by our belonging to the Community of the Free Nations of our Planet.