We,
the Leaders of Asian and African countries, have gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia
on 22-23 April 2005 for the Asian-African Summit to reinvigorate the Spirit of
Bandung as enshrined in the Final Communiqué of the 1955 Asian-African Conference
and to chart the future cooperation between our two continents towards a New Asian-African
Strategic Partnership (NAASP).
We
reiterate our conviction that the Spirit of Bandung, the core principles of which
are solidarity, friendship and cooperation, continues to be a solid, relevant
and effective foundation for fostering better relations among Asian and African
countries and resolving global issues of common concern. The 1955 Bandung Conference
remains as a beacon in guiding the future progress of Asia and Africa. We
note with satisfaction that since the 1955 Conference, Asian and African countries
have attained significant political advances. We have successfully combated the
scourge of colonialism and consistently fought racism. In particular, the abolishment
of apartheid represents a milestone in Asian-African cooperation and we reaffirm
our continued determination to eradicate racism and all forms of discrimination.
As a result of our efforts over the last fifty years, we are all independent,
sovereign and equal nations striving for the promotion of human rights, democracy,
and the rule of law. However, having made these political gains, we are concerned
that we have not yet attained commensurate progress in the social and economic
spheres. We recognize the need to continuously strengthen the process of nation
and state-building, as well as social integration. We
remain committed to the principle of self-determination as set forth in the Final
Communiqué of the 1955 Bandung Conference and in accordance with the Charter of
the United Nations. In particular, we express our abhorrence that, fifty years
since the 1955 Bandung Conference, the Palestinian people remain deprived of their
right to independence. We remain steadfast in our support for the Palestinian
people and the creation of a viable and sovereign Palestinian state, in accordance
with relevant United Nations resolutions. We
emphasize the importance of multilateral approaches to international relations
and the need for countries to strictly abide by the principles of international
law, in particular the Charter of the United Nations. As Asia and Africa represent
the majority in the community of nations, we reaffirm the need to support and
strengthen multilateralism in order to address global issues, including reforming
multilateral institutions. We
recognize that the current global situation and the prevailing conditions in Asia
and Africa necessitate the need to actively pursue a common view and collective
action to ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits of globalization. We are
determined to meet the internationally agreed targets and goals aimed at poverty
eradication, development and growth, and underline the necessity for all parties
to honor their commitments in this regard. We emphasize the importance of enhancing
cooperation with all regions. We
underline the importance of dialogue among civilizations to promote a culture
of peace, tolerance and respect for religious, cultural, language and racial diversities
as well as gender equality. We
acknowledge the positive development of intra-regional/sub-regional integration
in both continents. Nevertheless, continent-wide inter-regional cooperation among
the two continents needs to be developed. We are convinced that cooperation between
sub-regional organizations, through sharing experiences and best practices, can
propel growth and sustainable development.
We
underline the importance of bringing the regions closer together by utilizing
the advantages derived from the commonalities and diversity of, as well as the
new and encouraging developments in, both regions. We emphasize both the collective
responsibilities and the important role of all stakeholders in exploring innovative
and concrete ways and means to strengthen cooperation between Asia and Africa.
In
this regard, we acknowledge the importance of complementing and building upon
existing initiatives that link the two continents, inter alia Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD), China-Africa Cooperation Forum (CACF),
India-Africa Cooperation, Indonesia-Brunei Darussalam sponsored Non-Aligned Movement
Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation, Vietnam-Africa Forum, and the Smart
Partnership Initiative and the Langkawi International Dialogue. We stress the
importance of streamlining and aligning existing initiatives for coherence and
maximum benefit and to avoid duplication.
We acknowledge the New Partnership
for Africa÷s Development (NEPAD) as the African Union÷s program for poverty eradication,
socio-economic development and growth and accept it as the framework for engagement
with Africa. We express our support for the implementation of NEPAD.
We
underscore the urgency of promoting economic development in the Asian and African
regions, as stipulated in the 1955 Bandung Conference. We stress that poverty
and under-development, gender mainstreaming, communicable diseases, environmental
degradation, natural disasters, drought and desertification, digital divide, inequitable
market access, and foreign debt, remain as issues of common concern which call
for our closer cooperation and collective action. We
envision an Asian-African region at peace with itself and with the world at large
working together as a concert of nations in harmony, non-exclusive, bonded in
dynamic partnership and conscious of our historical ties and cultural heritage.
We visualize an affluent Asian-African region characterized by equitable growth,
sustainable development as well as a common determination to enhance the quality
of life and well-being of our people. We further envisage a caring Asian-African
society where the people live in stability, prosperity, dignity and free from
the fear of violence, oppression and injustice. To
this end, we hereby declare, as an expression of our new political will, the establishment
of a New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP) as a framework to build a
bridge between Asia and Africa covering three broad areas of partnership, namely
political solidarity, economic cooperation, and socio-cultural relations. The
strategic partnership provides a momentum in achieving peace, prosperity and progress,
and will be based on the following principles and ideals:
- The
Ten Principles of Bandung of the 1955 Asian - African Conference;
- Recognition
of diversity between and within the regions, including different social and economic
systems and levels of development;
- Commitment
to open dialogue, based on mutual respect and benefit;
- Promotion
of non-exclusive cooperation by involving all stakeholders;
- Attainment
of practical and sustainable cooperation based on comparative advantage, equal
partnership, common ownership and vision, as well as a firm and shared conviction
to address common challenges;
- Promotion
of sustainable partnership by complementing and building upon existing regional/sub-regional
initiatives in Asia and Africa;
- Promotion
of a just, democratic, transparent, accountable and harmonious society;
- Promotion
and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to
development;
- Promotion
of collective and unified efforts in multilateral fora.
The
NAASP shall emphasize the need to promote practical cooperation between the two
continents in areas such as trade, industry, investment, finance, tourism, information
and communication technology, energy, health, transportation, agriculture, water
resources and fisheries. We
are determined to prevent conflict and resolve disputes by peaceful means and
endeavor to explore innovative mechanisms for confidence building and dispute
resolution as well as for post- conflict peace building. The
NAASP shall promote human resource development, enhanced capacity building and
technical cooperation in order to create an enabling environment for the betterment
of the regions. We
resolve that the sustainability of the NAASP shall be conducted through three
tiers of interaction: an intergovernmental forum; sub-regional organizations;
and people-to-people interaction, particularly business, academia, and civil society. We
are determined to develop an institutionalized process of the NAASP through convening:
a Summit of Heads of State/Government every four years; a Ministerial Meeting
of Foreign Ministers every two years; and Sectoral Ministerial and other Technical
Meetings when deemed necessary. A Business Summit in conjunction with the Summit
of Heads of State/Government will be held every four years. We
pledge to our peoples our joint determination and commitment to bringing the NAASP
into reality by implementing concrete actions for the benefit and prosperity of
our people. Done
in Bandung, Indonesia, on the Twenty-fourth of April in the year Two Thousand
and Five, in conjunction with the Commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of the Asian-African
Conference of 1955. |
