'Partnership leads Asia-Africa to true destiny'

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officially opened the Asian- African Summit 2005 on Friday, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference. The following is his opening address.

At long last, at long last, we are all gathered here. It took fifty long years for this conference to happen, but Asia and Africa have finally assembled here again.

Today, the sons and daughters of Asia and Africa stand together, in this Hall as equals. And we stand tall, proud and free.

Let us therefore begin by giving a big applause, to honor the first generation of Asian and African leaders, who started it all in Bandung in 1955.

What they did was truly remarkable. At a volatile time when the new world was searching for order, they awakened the collective spirit of Asia and Africa, they set forth a new course, and they ignited a new sense of solidarity and activism, that transformed our two great continents.

In short, what they did was no less than to change the world, and shaped the second half of the 20th century.

Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the gathering which in 1955 began with 29 countries -- 3 from Africa, 26 from Asia and the Middle- East -- now have grown into a large conference of 106 independent countries.

But we do not come here to reminisce, nor to bask in self- romanticization. Nor are we here to exchange pleasantries, or to lament our problems.

We come here, because we need to ask hard questions and find real answers, about how Asia and Africa can adapt and respond to the challenges of today's world.

We must ask : Why did it take 50 years "a lifetime" for Asia and Africa to reconvene, after the success of the first Summit in 1955?

We must ask: Does the Bandung Spirit mean the same in 2005 as it did in 1955? If the Bandung spirit has served us well over the years, how can we adapt that spirit to today's circumstances?

And we must ask: now that Asia-Africa is reconvened in great numbers and with robust confidence, how can we make it relevant -- relevant to us, and relevant to the world?

The sad fact of history is that, while the Bandung Spirit lived on after 1955, the Asia-Africa process stumbled. The last time we heard of the "Asia-Africa" conference was in 1965, when the attempt to reconvene the second Asian African Summit in Algiers faltered.

What we need to remember here is that "Asia-Africa" faltered not for lack of spirit, but for lack of process, for lack of planning, and perhaps --perhaps -- for lack of prudence.

But for those who question whether the Bandung Spirit is still relevant, I would say that the case for Asia-Africa solidarity today is, even more compelling than it was 50 years ago.

Let us not forget: as we entered the new millennium, Asia- Africa remains the missing link, in the worldwide structure of inter-regional relations.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, there is the formal alliance between Europe and North America.

Across the Pacific Ocean, there is the formal linkage between Asia and the Americas, through APEC and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

But across the Indian Ocean, none exists between Asia and Africa, despite the success story of the first Asia-Africa Summit in 1955.

Our meeting here today is therefore, an inauguration of that new bridge across the Indian Ocean, that new bridge between the wonderful worlds of Asia and Africa.

Indeed, the international environment today is much more conducive, for the coming together of Asia and Africa.

Asia and Africa are no longer burdened by the Cold War, which in 1955 pulled the Asian and African participants in Bandung in different directions.

Asia and Africa are now much more accustomed and open to each other, we have developed better skills of cooperation and interactions, and we are much more integrated into the world economy than 50 years ago. And of course, television, radio, internet, fast airplanes, trade, sports and tourism have brought our peoples closer.

Asia and Africa are also now home to important regional and sub-regional organizations, as well as to the proliferation of bilateral and multilateral ties.

And beyond Asia-Africa, in contrast with 1955, we now see a world much more sympathetic to our problems, and eager to work and engage us.

Which is why in today's international context, the real challenge of Asia-Africa is not about developing the power to confront, but the power to connect.

Asia-Africa must connect with itself, but it must also connect with other international and regional groupings.

Thus, we can do much more with Asia-Africa in 2005 compared to 1955.

Just think about it: 106 countries now grace the continents of Asia and Africa, comprising more than one-half of the membership of the United Nations, encompassing an area that is almost half of the world. We speak for 4.6 billion people, or 73 percent of the world's population. Our combined Gross Domestic Product amounts to $9.3 trillion.

But being too impressed with demographics or economic statistics, will not get us very far.

The renewed Asia-Africa process that we are trying to nurture, will matter only if we can make it relevant to the problems and opportunities of Asia-Africa.

And the problems of Asia and Africa are plenty.

But the most persistent among them is the enduring fight against poverty.

Africa is the only continent where poverty is on the rise, where 40 percent of all Sub-Saharan people live on less than a dollar a day. Asia also has vast pockets of poverty, where people living in extreme poverty, outnumber those in Africa by several hundred millions.

And of course, Asia and Africa's problems do not stop there. 25 million Africans, and 7.5 million Asians, are victims of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Millions of our peoples do not have access to clean water, proper education, energy, healthcare.

Environmental degradation is pervasive. Armed conflicts of various kinds kill our people, and distort our national development. Terrorism and trans-national crimes are on the rise. Corruption retards our national growth. And the people of Palestine, after all these years, are still deprived of the independent and sovereign State, which is rightfully theirs.

And that is why today, in 2005, we have to sound a different battle cry. In 1955, the battle cry of the day was "Freedom", which made perfect sense given the persistence of colonialism back then. But now that Asia and Africa are free, we must take on the next phase, of that battle for human dignity.

That battle is called: the quest for good governance. And the struggle for good governance is not necessarily easier than the struggle for freedom.

If Asia and Africa can learn anything from the past five decades, it is that the success or failure of governance, explains the success and failure of states. It also explains the success or failure of peace, the success or failure of development, the success or failure of nation-building.

Good governance is what will fulfill the promise of freedom that our fathers struggled for. And good governance is what will truly "liberate" Asia and Africa, and unleash our true potentials.

The vision of Asia-Africa therefore, should be a vision that enhances good governance.

But the worst thing you can do to a great vision is to deprive it of practical detail.

Thus, as we reaffirm our faith in the Bandung Spirit, now we must care to give it flesh and form.

Let us now therefore build a Strategic Partnership, that will bind our two continents in a vibrant, pragmatic and forward- looking way.

That partnership should cover evenly three broad areas of cooperation: political solidarity, economic cooperation, and socio-cultural relations.

It should promote human resources development, enhance capacity building, and technical cooperation, to create an constructive environment for the region.

That partnership should promote rich interaction at three levels: at the intergovernmental level, at the level of sub- regional organizations, and at the level of people-to-people contact. That is why for that partnership to work, it will demand the active involvement of the business sector, the academia, civil society and the mass media.

The operation of that Strategic Partnership should be based on, and guided by a wide range of agreed principles, that the nations of Asia and Africa passionately believe in. Foremost of these principles are the Dasa Sila of Bandung, laid down by the Asian-African Conference of 1955.

And as a practical measure, the mechanics of our cooperation, must give allowances to the immense diversity of our social and economic systems, and levels of development.

We should never be inward-looking. We should be non-exclusive, and be willing to cooperate with all stakeholders. In particular, Asia-Africa must be at the forefront of the global cooperation, to reach the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The Strategic Partnership should also serve as an instrument for the promotion of a just, democratic, accountable and harmonious society. Thus, we can strengthen the process of our own nation-building and state-building, as well as social integration.

Moreover, we must take it upon ourselves, to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Not the least of these is the most basic of human rights "the right to live!" No Asian or African should die, because he or she is too poor to live.

And in the various multilateral forums where our interests are at stake, we should coordinate our moves, and speak with one strong and clear voice. Acting as one community, we can make sure that, even the smallest among us will not be marginalized.

I am glad that through this Summit, Asia and Africa remains unyielding in supporting our Palestinian brothers and sisters, in their epic struggle to gain their independent, sovereign state, where they can be assured freedom, justice and peace.

So these, brothers and sisters, are the principles that form the hallmark of the Strategic Partnership, which will lead us to our true destiny.

You know, in 1955, Indonesia's founding father and first President, Sukarno, declared in Bandung that "Asia-Africa would unleash the moral violence of nations, in favor of peace." I believe that in 2005, Asia-Africa can be, and must be, more than a "moral force".

Much more.

Through this Strategic Partnership, Asia-Africa can be transformed, no longer just as a geographical expression, but as a true geopolitical and geo-economic reality.

I believe that, if we revive and adapt the Bandung Spirit in our hearts, and make this Partnership work for us, the story of Asia-Africa in the 21st century, can be very different from its 20th century past.

Asia-Africa will be a non-exclusive concert of nations living in peace and harmony, bonded in partnership and conscious of its historic and cultural roots.

And Insya Allah (God willing), it will be one big caring society, where our peoples will live in comfort and dignity, free from fear of violence, oppression and injustice. We will all be free from the clutches of poverty, and at liberty to rise to our fullest potential.

That will be the ultimate freedom.

I look forward to working, and sweating, with all of you to achieve that Strategic Partnership, and to write the future history of Asia-Africa.

Thank you.