Bismillah
Hirrahmanirrahim
Majesties,
Royal Highnesses,
Excellencies Leaders
of Asian-African Nations,
Your Excellency UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
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,
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.
ASIA-AFRICA
in 2005 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. | 
