Statement by H.E. President Hamid Karzai
at the Asian-African Summit 2005
H.E. President Hamid Karzai
04/23/2005
Honourable Co-Chairs President Yudhoyono and President
Mbeki,
Honourable Heads of State and Government,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Thank you President Yudhoyono and President Mbeki for your leadership
in organizing this important conference. May I also express
my gratitude to the people of Indonesia, for the very warm hospitality,
particularly when they are still recovering from the tragic
losses inflicted by the tsunami disaster. I take this opportunity
to express on behalf of the Afghan people, once again, my heartfelt
condolences to the families and friends of the more than 200,000
tsunami victims in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and
other countries in Asia and Africa.
Fifty years ago, Afghanistan was one of the 29
nations participating in the first Asian-African Conference
in Bandung. Today, as we celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the
Asian-African Conference, we are delighted to have so many more
friends to celebrate with.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The world has witnessed incredible developments
over the last 50 years. The advances in technology, in science,
and in our capacity to communicate with one another -
and by extension, to know each other better, are remarkable.
Yet, in the face of these advances, the spirit that infused
the first Bandung Conference does not seem outdated, but rather,
more pertinent than ever.
If our ability to help one another due to technology
is greater, so is our ability to harm one another. If the era
of global media has enabled us to hear better the cries of starving
children, so has it magnified the wrong we do when we ignore
those cries. If the internet and instant communications have
brought us closer together, they have also highlighted our lack
of understanding of each other.
I am delighted therefore to see that the ideals
that permeated the first conference in 1955 are so amply present
at this conference today. While the challenges that confronted
our nations in 1955 - such as colonialism, the emergence
of a bi-polar world, and the threat of nuclear confrontation
- may be different from the ones that we must overcome
today, our responses must remain driven by the same principles
- the principles of sovereignty, of cooperation, of peace
and of understanding. For in the end, it is not our challenges,
but our responses, which will unite us.
Excellencies,
Today’s conference focuses on a strategic
partnership between Africa and Asia. And in that spirit of partnership,
we must reflect not only on the achievements of the past fifty
years, but also on the failures. And we must be prepared to
ask ourselves tough questions. The history of our regions especially
over the recent decade has not always been a happy one, and
indeed, has been characterized by violent conflicts which have
shocked the world not only by their numbers, but by their brutality.
We must ask ourselves why these tragedies came to pass, and
why we failed to stop them. Were we negligent at best or complicit
at worst, pursuing narrow self-interests at the expense of others?
Our efforts to combat poverty have not always been successful.
We must ask ourselves how we can better empower our people economically.
New threats - like extremism or AIDS - challenge
the very fabric of our societies. We must ask ourselves what
steps we can take to minimize the effects of these threats on
our societies, and to assist those already suffering from them.
Thirty years ago, Afghanistan’s journey
of development and democratization was violently disrupted by
an invasion from a foreign empire. As we fought to repel the
aggression of the former Soviet Union, much of the world stood
with us, in solidarity and support, driven less by the desire
to help Afghans than to destroy Communism. At the end of that
conflict, a shattered Afghanistan was left open to anarchy,
oppression and foreign interference which propelled the forces
of terrorism into the country. The attacks of September 11,
in a gruesome way, demonstrated the disastrous outcome of this
long-neglected conflict.
What conclusions can be drawn from this experience?
First, that the pursuit of narrow self-interest is often opposed
to a nation’s broader interests, especially when it comes
at the expense of other nations. Second, that creating or sustaining
human misery in any country is a negative-sum game for the world
- everyone suffers. And third, that neglecting conflict
will only exacerbate the dangers to all, and make the solution
more difficult, complex and expensive.
On the other hand, when the world’s attention
and support returned to Afghanistan three years ago, a significant
precedent was created for how to transform a nation suffering
from interference and tyranny to one driven by confidence and
hope. Afghanistan today is an asset to the region, fostering
trade, encouraging stability, and bringing a new sense of commitment
to regional cooperation. To cite but one example, in 2001, the
value of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan was annually
US$ 50 million. Today, it stands at more than US$ 1 billion
per year. I take this opportunity to thank all the nations that
have helped Afghanistan over the last three years.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Some of us have made admirable progress over the
last 50 years, and we are fortunate today to have many excellent
role models among us. There is no intrinsic barrier in Africa
or Asia which can prevent us from overcoming our challenges.
There is no reason why we cannot achieve peace. There is no
reason why we cannot achieve prosperity. And there is no reason
why we cannot capitalize on our wealth of natural and human
resources -in particular, the younger generations -
to build a better life for all of our citizens.
Fifty years from now, I hope that the leaders
of our nations will come together to celebrate not only the
tremendous advances our world has made, but the successes each
one of our countries has achieved. We must build a future where
quality education and health care are not only privileges of
the wealthy, but 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.
Today, by revitalizing the spirit of the Bandung Conference,
we have the opportunity to lay the foundation for that future.
Thank you.
