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It is indeed a great privilege and honour for me to represent Pakistan at the
Second Africa Asia Sub-Regional Organizations Conference in the beautiful city
of Durban. I am over whelmed by the very warm hospitality extended to the
Pakistan delegation and for the excellent Conference facilities and
arrangements. I must also convey our deep appreciation to both the governments
of South Africa and Indonesia for their outstanding leadership as AASROC
Co-Chairs in injecting a new direction and vigour to Asia-Africa cooperation.
The AASROC initiative draws inspiration from the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference in
Bandung and the ten principles for mutual cooperation enunciated thereof. The
principles and ideals of independence, peace, justice and common prosperity are
as much relevant today as they were half a century ago.
The AASROC initiative flows from the realization that the objectives that our
leaders sought to achieve by joining hands and building an edifice around the
ten Bandung principles are as relevant today as they were then. Except that the
challenges we face in the 21st century are more complex and threatening. Our
struggle against poverty, disease and under development is far from over or
perhaps not even started, and yet there are new challenges and threats emerging
including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, new colonialism and
unilateralism. The process of Globalization that should have been a source of
inspiration and hope for the poor has unfortunately become a part of the problem
instead of being a part of the solution. The order is tall and task is uphill.
If peace and security was a priority at Bangung 50 years ago for avoiding wars,
winning respect and justice and securing freedoms for the colonized, it is as
much a priority now for achieving economic growth and development. Strong faith
and adherence to multilateralism was as much of a necessity then as it was
today.
The initiative to convene Asia-Africa Sub-Regional Organizations Conference
could not have come at a more opportune time. The distance that the AASROC
platform has already covered since its first meeting in Bangung in July 2003
testifies to the political commitment of the participating states to see this
cooperative endeavour grow. Pakistan fully supports the new strategic
partnership between Asia and Africa. The problems that our two continents face
are complex and daunde. Our common need and desire to effectively address the
challenge of development and fighting poverty exacerbated by reduced market
access, rising debt burdens, declining development assistance and investment and
financial flows. A military centric strategic approach to peace and security is
anachronistic for the simple reason that peace without socio-economic
development is unsustainable. Skewed international trade and financial flows and
ever increasing unilateralist tendency make global peace more precarious.
The recommendations made by the AASROC Ministerial Working Group meeting in
Durban earlier this year provide the necessary institutional framework to build
a mechanism for cooperation between Asia and Africa. We are glad that the
Working Group, while identifying the need for cooperation in political, economic
and social and cultural spheres agreed to primarily focus the new strategic
partnership on intensifying cooperation in the area of trade, investment and
human resource development. In this regard the Working Group further recognized
the pivotal role that the private sector can play. We particularly welcome the
recommendation to create an Asia-Africa Business Forum. Pakistan is of the firm
view that enhanced trade and economic activity between our two continents and
closer contacts between our two business communities would prove to be a
critical asset in facilitating wider cooperation in all other areas.
In this regard the proposed Asia-Africa Business Forum could from the Asian side
include Businessmen representing the business segment/chambers of commerce and
industry of various regional organizations. The proposed Business Forum may also
consider creating a loose confederation of all chambers of commerce and
industry, representing various sub-regional organizations. Pakistan on its part
can volunteer to host the first meeting of the Asia-Africa Business Forum, as
and when it is established to finalize the modalities for cooperation. (Before
formally proposing, we may clear this proposal with the EPB and the Ministry of
Commerce).
Regional trading blocks and preferential trading arrangements are on the rise.
Open regionalism is becoming a norm rather than an exception, particularly in
view of the slow progress in the multilateral trade negotiations, which were
until recently stalled completely. We should devise these mechanisms in a manner
so that they act as the building blocks for multilateral trade liberalization.
The bilateral and regional trading arrangements between Asia and Africa are
unfortunately non-existent, while the number of such arrangements elsewhere is
on the rise. We may, therefore, through the AASROC Working Group seriously
examine the various possibilities that may exist to stimulate trade and
commercial cooperation by creating such arrangements. We would support the
setting up of a Sub-Working Group to undertake an in-depth examination of the
subject and submit a report to the next Ministerial Working Group. In this
regard we feel that the study paper to be presented by the South Africa,
Indonesia, Morocco and other volunteer countries, as agreed during the
Ministerial Working Group in March, could provide a good basis to further work
on this idea.
Another area where our two continents perhaps lag behind is the absence/lack of
opportunity for people to people interaction. Lack of information about each
other, high cost of travel and other linguistic and cultural barriers have stood
in the way of building people to people contacts. We strongly feel that this is
the other most important area where AASROC should be working to devise
mechanisms that would facilitate closer interaction at all levels.
Pakistan has always been pro-active in supporting initiatives that seek to
address the problems and crises faced by the countries of Africa. We have also
been a strong supporter of the effective and early implementation of the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Similarly, Pakistan has
consistently supported the political and economic aspirations of Africa. We are
proud of our participation in several UN peacekeeping operations in Africa. Our
military and civilian personnel have been part of UN Operations in Somalia,
Namibia, Liberia, Western Sahara, and, latterly, Sierra Leone. Pakistan will
continue to lend its moral and material support to the African countries.
At the national level the Government of Pakistan has been successfully running a
special technical assistance programme for Africa since 1986. Hundreds of young
African professionals in various fields have benefited from this ongoing
programme. We are ready to share our experiences with other willing partners
from Asia and would also welcome ideas on making the programme more effective
from our African friends who have participated in the programme.
We have been focused for two long on North-South Cooperation without achieving
the desired results. It is, therefore, time to enhance and reinforce South-South
Cooperation for the common good of the people of our two continents. We should
not see the South-South Cooperation as a substitute; instead it should be viewed
as supplementing the other multilateral and interregional efforts underway
including the North-South Cooperation. We are of the view that technological
advancement and human resource development level achieved by some of the
countries in Asia and Africa can be share and replicated elsewhere in Asia and
Africa. The absence of a forum for Asia-Africa Dialogue in a way contributed to
the lack of action in this area. I am confident that the second round of our
deliberations here at Durban would enable us to frame the modalities and
parameters for Afro-Asian Cooperation to be approved by our leaders during the
Bandung Summit in 2005. Pakistan on its part would continue with its endeavors
to make a positive contribution to the process.