What leaders say about new strategic partnership

What leaders say about new strategic partnership

Many of the Asian and African leaders attending the two-day
summit that opened in Jakarta on Friday have signed Asian-African
Strategic Partnership (NAASP). The to recognize the relevance of
the solidarity, friendship and cooperation initiated by the Asian
and African leaders who attended the historic 1955 conference in
Bandung. The following are comments by some of the leaders at
the summit's opening.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia:

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, from no longer being
just a geographical expression, but as a true geopolitical and
geo-economic reality.

Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa:

We have made significant strides towards giving real meaning
to the critical objective of South-South cooperation, the
cooperation visualized by the freedom fighters who met in Bandung
in 1955, which we seek radically to expand through the
establishment of the new Asian-African strategic partnership. We
have built some of the institutional mechanisms we need to enable
us to act together to achieve our common goals. These include the
African Union, its development program NEPAD, ASEAN and others.

Hu Jintao, President of China:

We must actively promote and improve North-South relations on
the basis of equality and mutual benefit, facilitating North-
South dialog and cooperation, safeguarding and expanding the
legitimate rights and interests of developing countries,
achieving a win-win result through reciprocity and
complementarity, and contributing to human progress by advancing
the cause of world peace, stability and prosperity.

Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan:

Japan places great emphasis on the strengthening of
partnerships in the areas of poverty reduction and development.
From this point of view, Japan will ensure a credible and
sufficient level of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). In
addition, Japan will be seeking concrete actions to further
expand market access to products from the least developed
countries in order to support their self-reliance.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Chairman of the Organization of Islamic Conference:

Asia and Africa must take the lead in strengthening ties with
civil society, which can be a force and factor for national
development, as well as in our quest for a just, democratic and
progressive world. Asia and Africa must also work closely to
combat negative perceptions about Asian and Africa depicted by
the international media. We must ensure that good governance
prevails at the national levels in our respective countries.

Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria and Chairman
of the African Union:

The Asian African partnership should strengthen our economic
interaction with the wider world such that the rules of the game
should not continue to be to our disadvantage but rather
equitable and fair. We should, therefore, actively participate in
strengthening our activities in international organizations by
coordinating our strategies and by according each other mutually
beneficial support in pursuit of our common interests.

Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand:

To create a workable partnership at the intercontinental
level, may I suggest that the Asia Cooperation Dialog and the
African Union consider initiating a mechanism that could involve
some pioneer members on both sides to work out a number of
functional cooperation projects that feel comfortable to lead
off. Others may join whenever they are ready at their own
convenience.

Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan

We must build a future where quality education and health care
are not only privileges of the wealthy but the rights of all;
where our faiths rightly guide us to serve humanity, not to harm
it and where a concern for collective well-being has replaced
narrow national interests.

Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore

For Africa, it can latch onto Asia's growth by strengthening
trade and business linkages. For Asia, this is the missing piece
from our network of linkages with North American, the European
Union and Latin America. The new Asian-African strategic
partnership must develop concrete initiatives and projects that
will broaden our understanding of each other's needs and
aspirations, strengths and capabilities, and enhance people-to-
people exchanges. Singapore supports the new Asian-African
strategic partnership.