New Asian-African partnership may increase int'l leverage: RI<\/p>\n
Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
An Asia and Africa partnership will increase the countries'
\nleverage in international negotiations, particularly in relation
\nto economic affairs, a high-ranking official has said.<\/p>\n
The new partnership, called the New Asian-African Strategic
\nPartnership (NAASP), will be based on mutual benefit that aims at
\nimproving the welfare of the African nations in particular. It
\nwill be formally launched during the Asian-African Summit, to be
\nheld from April 22 to April 23.<\/p>\n
\"We agree to strengthen our leverage, as a group of countries
\nwho share common interests in negotiations on various issues. The
\nfocus is to maintain solidarity, particularly when addressing
\ncertain issues, such as economic issues. Our unity, our
\nwillpower, can determine our success in any forum,\" Sudjadnan
\nParnohadiningrat, the secretary-general of the Indonesian
\nMinistry of Foreign Affairs, said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He added that the summit would not be a forum for seeking
\ndonors or recipients.<\/p>\n
\"We invite donor countries but it is not our intention to
\nsolicit donations. We invite them to work together to find the
\nareas of cooperation that Asia, Africa and donor countries could
\ndevelop in the future.\"<\/p>\n
Sudjadnan was accompanied by Ayanda Ntsaluba, the Director
\nGeneral at the South African Foreign Affairs Ministry, during the
\npress briefing at the end of the three-day Asian-African Senior
\nOfficials' Meeting (SOM) here on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The meeting discussed the drafts of two declarations, the
\nNAASP -- to be signed by heads of state on April 23 and the joint
\nministerial statement on NAASP's plan of action.<\/p>\n
The SOM was attended by around 260 officials from 68 Asian and
\nAfrican countries.<\/p>\n
Sudjadnan said that the declaration would be a \"statement of
\nintent\", which could serve as the rules of the game in the new
\npartnership that will take the form of a loose grouping and not
\nbe legally binding.<\/p>\n
He said the partnership will focus on three main areas of
\ncooperation: political solidarity, economic and socio-cultural
\nrelations.<\/p>\n
Political solidarity will require the committed nations to
\nseek ways to maintain peace and stability in the Asian and
\nAfrican continents, to prevent conflict and build peace, promote
\nand protect human rights and make joint efforts to combat
\ntransnational crimes and terrorism.<\/p>\n
\"In the area of economic cooperation, we're seeking to resolve
\nthe issue of poverty through mobilizing resources, economic
\ngrowth and so on,\" said Sudjadnan, who is also the secretary-
\ngeneral of the Summit's national organizing committee.<\/p>\n
In the field of socio-economic relations, participating
\ncountries will make a commitment to promote cultural diversity.<\/p>\n
\"These are some concrete measures that are aimed at working
\ntogether for the betterment of the people from the two
\ncontinents,\" he said.<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday, 54 leaders from 106 countries invited to the
\nevent had confirmed their attendance at the summit, themed
\nReinvigorating the Bandung Spirit: Working Towards A New Asian-
\nAfrican Strategic Partnership. A commemoration of the Golden
\nJubilee of the Asia-Africa conference will follow the summit in
\nBandung, West Java, on April 24.<\/p>\n
The idea of the partnership was raised during the ASEAN Summit
\nin Phnom Penh in November 2002 by South African President Thabo
\nMbeki in his capacity as the then chair of the African Union
\n(AU).<\/p>\n
He called on ASEAN leaders to cooperate with Africa on the New
\nPartnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), an AU program for
\npoverty eradication, socio-economic development and growth.<\/p>\n
In response, Indonesian president Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nproposed to co-host the first Asian-African Sub-Regional
\nOrganizations Conference (AASROC) with South Africa to set the
\nground for Asian-African cooperation. The first conference took
\nplace in 2003 in Bandung, and the second was in 2004 in Durban,
\nSouth Africa.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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