Speech
by HE Mr. M. Morshed Khan, MP, Foreign Minister of
Bangladesh at the Golden Jubilee Commemoration of
the Historic 1955 Bandung Conference.
Honourable
Co-Chairs,
Your Majesties, Highnesses,
Distinguished delegates,
Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I
deem it a privilege and honour that I am present at
the Golden Jubilee Commemoration of the Historic 1955
Bandung Conference. I have the added honour to represent
my Prime Minister Her Excellency Begum Khaleda Zia
who, despite her genuine desire, could not be present
due to urgent preoccupations at home. I carry with
me her best wishes and those of the people and Government
of Bangladesh, for the success of this Conference.
We
are happy to see you chair this Summit and we are
confident that with your able stewardship, our deliberations
will reach a fruitful outcome.
I
also wish to express my delegation's deep gratitude
to His Excellency the President of Indonesia and the
President of South Africa for their opening statements.
The wisdom and the vision emanating from their statements
have already set the tone for this Conference.
My
delegation would like to record our appreciation for
the warm hospitality extended to us by the Government
and people of Indonesia and for the excellent arrangements
made for the conference. We admire the courage of
the Indonesian people for hosting this conference
so soon after emerging from the devastating Tsunami
and earthquake.
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
When
the Asian African Conference was conceptualized in
Colombo in 1954, the then Prime Minister of Indonesia
had posed a question, and I quote, Where do we stand
now, we the peoples of Asia, in this world today?
unquote. That question remains alive and relevant
as we gather today and ask ourselves, "Where
do we stand now, fifty years hence ?."
The
Ten principles of Bandung which drew from the Charter
of the United Nations, provided a roadmap for peace
and development of the countries of Asia and Africa,
for upholding respect for human rights, for promoting
international understanding in a world free of war.
Bandung inspired to steer away from big power rivalry
and alliances and towards the creation of the Non
Aligned Movement.
Much
has happened over the past fifty years. A globalized
world has taken shape. Spectacular developments in
information and communication technology have torn
down barriers and distances between nations. Though
endowed with rich natural and human resources, yet
millions in countries of Asia and Africa remain deprived
of the basic needs. The situation is particularly
acute in the case of the Least Developed countries.
It is unfortunate but a reality and that is where
we stand now.
The
Bandung Spirit is omnipresent in every major decision
taken in the UN or the NAM, and the Millennium Development
Goals are a case in point. It seeks to foster cooperation,
be it South-South or North-South. We believe that
it will continue to be so even in the complex globalized
world of today.
The
challenge for the Asian and African nations is to
strengthen the resolve to address the common issues
of development. For the last 50 years, we have been
bargaining with the richer countries for our due share
to fulfill our development agenda. We have achieved
little. We now need to act in concert by pooling and
sharing our resources in order to continue the negotiation
from a position of strength.
Respected
Co-Chairs,
We
are happy to join in launching the New Asian African
Strategic Partnership. We believe the Partnership
can help us in facing the present and future challenges,
if we can make it work. I would like to mention a
few points to that effect.
The NAASP can be a valuable vehicle, only if it is
oriented to the right areas with appropriate policy
support by national governments. The Plan of Action
on the NAASP needs a more practical, need-based, action-oriented
focus and should provide clear guidelines in specific
areas so that progress is measurable. We should also
try to learn from each other's experience and replicate
the best practices.
Human
development should receive priority attention with
emphasis on basic needs including food, education,
health, sanitation etc. Actions in these areas would
benefit the larger segments of our population in most
of our countries. The knowledge and experience of
the regional and sub-regional organizations in these
areas can be useful in our endeavour. Civil society
partners, with their experience of the ground situation,
can also offer manifold advantages including optimal
use of scarce resources and recourse to home-grown
initiatives.
Half
of our population being women - empowering them economically
and socially is of crucial importance. This has a
multiplier effect on many fronts, most visible on
poverty, health and education of a society. Today
in Bangladesh, the proportion of girl students is
higher than boys. Innovative approaches like "free
education for female students up to grade 12"
and "food for education" have played a crucial
role in this success. Bangladeshi women today feel
empowered as an equal partner in the society. It is
a common sight that rural women are selling their
household products through use of a mobile phone.
Over
the past few years, some significant progress has
been made in Bangladesh in the area of human development.
I will take a few minutes to go over some of these,
to share with you our experience.
Bangladesh
registered a 9.2 percentage point reduction of poverty
over the decade from 1991-2000. Enrolment rate at
primary schools rose to 82.7% in 2003 from 72.7 per
cent in 1992. Child mortality fell from 151 in 1990
to 82 per 1000 live births in 2003. Life expectancy
at birth jumped from 45 years in 1970-75 to 61 years
in 2000-2005. All these contributed to the upgradation
of Bangladesh to the Medium Human Development category
of United Nations human development index. As the
World Bank recently said, and I quote, "Not many
countries at Bangladesh level of income, can list
so many of these achievements." Close quote.
Distinguished
delegates,
May
I draw your attention to a few issues relating to
development.
First,
cooperation on development of human resources. This
is a key area for economies with substantial underemployment
and unemployment, particularly among the educated
youth. Development of human resources forms the foundation
for alleviation of poverty and advancement of socio-economic
infrastructure. Skill development in youth and women,
particularly, targeted skill education can be a crucial
tool in creating employment for the youth and ensuring
pro-poor growth. Innovative use of ICT is a critically
important element in such education.
Secondly,
rural poverty in many Asian African countries is an
important obstacle to all-round and sustainable development.
Consequently, addressing poverty, in particular rural
poverty, ought to be the main objective of our programmes
of cooperation. Resource gap and technology gap can
be bridged through innovative approaches as has been
our experience.
Thirdly,
Promoting direct trade between our two continents
is extremely important in the post-MFA environment.
Private sector leaders in trade and industry must
interact to explore opportunities. Investment, particularly
in areas of comparative advantage, should be encouraged
to boost trade. We should also strive to bring down
trade and non-trade barriers among our countries to
that end.
Fourthly,
infrastructure development, which is crucial for promoting
trade and investment as well as connectivity, both
internal and external.
Finally,
energy sector cooperation. Our development efforts,
are largely dependent on conventional energy sources.
There is need for secure and assured supply through
cooperation between energy producing and energy consuming
countries in Asia and Africa. Special focus is required
on energy availability in rural areas, including conventional
and non-conventional forms of energy for economic
development and poverty reduction. We should also
promote energy efficiency and conservation. At a practical
level, cooperation on CNG use in transport may be
promoted. Valuable lessons have been learnt in Bangladesh
from innovative projects such as Rural Electrification
Cooperative Societies.
Honourable
Co-Chairs,
The
horrifying magnitude of the Tsunami disaster that
affected both Asia and Africa shows that there is
no guarantee against the wrath of mother nature. In
living through severe natural disasters over the years,
we in Bangladesh have learnt that such disasters bring
people together in time of need. Putting together
their experience in some of our countries will be
of common benefit. Bangladesh is willing to do its
part in this regard.
Let
me conclude by expressing the conviction that the
Bandung spirit will endure in the days ahead. Perhaps
at the next commemoration of Bandung Conference, we
will be able to say that Asia and Africa have together
fared much better than they did in 1955.
I thank you.
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