Developing states told to boost ties
Developing states told to boost ties
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia which currently chairs the 111-nation
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) yesterday called on developing nations
to further enhance their cooperation as a means of promoting
their economic development.
In his opening address to the Asia-Africa Forum yesterday,
President Soeharto asserted the importance of South-South
cooperation as a strategic alternative in development due to the
similar conditions among Asian and African states.
"Enhancement of South-South cooperation is a strategic
endeavor for developing countries in the face of the increasingly
strong globalization and economic openness today," he said during
the opening ceremony at the State Palace.
One hundred senior officials from 43 African and 10 Asian
states are here to engage in a five-day conference aimed at
promoting sustainable development in Africa through the Asian
experience.
The main issues to be discussed are human resources
development, methods of increasing agricultural production and
the promotion of the modalities and finances of development
cooperation.
Yesterday's formal opening at the State Palace heralded the
beginning of the conference in Bandung, West Java, today.
The advent of the Forum itself is a follow-up of last year's
Tokyo International Conference on African Development which
produced the "Tokyo Declaration".
The Forum is jointly sponsored by the Japanese government, the
United Nations Development Program and the Global Coalition for
Africa.
Stressing the need for cooperation, Soeharto said that
although each nation is confronted with different conditions in
the development process, much could be gained from communication
with each other.
"Experience so far proves there are general policies of
development applicable in various countries at different times,"
he said.
Soeharto thus expressed confidence that the Forum will have a
positive impact in accelerating development in the respective
countries.
"Our colleagues from Africa will have the chance to conduct a
dialog with their Asian colleagues on various development
issues," he said.
Chief executive assistant to the NAM chairman, Nana Sutresna,
said the theme adopted for the Forum is "Asian experience,
African development".
Though not an immediate derivative of NAM, the Forum is an
outgrowth of the South-South cooperation strategy which Indonesia
and the Movement strongly advocate.
It also signifies a shift from the traditional "western
centric" development approach that has dominated development
thinking for many years.
"Economic cooperation among developing countries is one of the
keys to the success of our nation's development," Soeharto said
of Indonesia's own experience.
Soeharto also noted that by compiling the wisdom of Asia's
development, the African nations can elude errors previously
encountered.
"Development is the work of human beings ... their work is not
entirely free from faults and shortcomings. It is by learning
from them that can we avoid doing unnecessary things," he said.(mds)