Good morning, everybody. This is one of the many days that I feel very privileged to represent the host country of United Nations so as to have the chance to address you on such an important occasion.
On behalf of the United States, I wish to convey our deepest condnlences and most heartfelt condolences to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, her children and grandchildren, and to the people of Thailand on the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His Majesty was not only a lifelong friend and partner to the United States, but he also had deep personal ties to our nation...
And His Majesty was more than just a keen observer. Being useful meant helping fix the problems that he encountered, and empowering the Thai people to do the same. He had a mind that was at once kinetice and deliberate, creative - as we have heard- and scientific. Over the course of his life, he registered nearly 40 patents and trademarks - often for inventions that he built, tested,and modified himself - and most of which aimed at tackling everyday problems faced by the poor. This is completely extraordinary.
Take the invention nicknamed the "monkey's cheeks," which he designed to address the perennial flood that Thailand experiences. His Majesty remembered seeing as a child the way that monkeys would store chewed bananas in theircheeks so that they could eat them late, and built a system of small reservoirs that worked using a similar - principle - storing excess water during heavy rains that could be used later for irrigation. The system of the "monkey's cheeks"is still being used across Thailand today. Many of the King's inventions fit this pattern - merging conservation with human development. He was decades ahead of the curve in recongnizing that what was environmentally sustainble was crucial to the long term health of commmunities...thank you