Asian summit seeks to develop cooperation among asian states
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ACD summit seeks to develop cooperation
KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s call to hold the first Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit arises from true belief and keenness to develop and sustain mutual cooperation, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said yesterday. “A whole decade passed on our annual consultations and dialogues, during which, our genuine desire to cooperate and develop our joint action was embodied in order to promote our dialogue into a mechanism beneficiary for our peoples’ prosperity and welfare,” Sheikh Sabah, also foreign minister, said before a preparatory meeting of ACD foreign ministers, which kicked off earlier yesterday.
“Our Asian continent is the largest and most populated… enjoying a rich history and cultural diversity that contributed in advancing science and human knowledge throughout time. This requires us to reinvigorate joint efforts towards more coordination and consultation,” Sheikh Sabah noted. “Kuwait has realized the importance of its Asian outreach, as it started to expand its diplomatic representation in the continent with missions in Asian countries nearing 40 percent of the total diplomatic representation of Kuwait overseas. Also, Asian missions in Kuwait represent 35 percent of total diplomatic corps. Kuwait is looking forward to continue with expanding such representation in a bid to fortify and deepen its communication with Asian countries,” he pointed out.
Sheikh Sabah added: “Kuwait is ardent on supporting development efforts in Asia by financing different developmental projects through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and in cooperation with concerned governments, and the estimated volume of grants and developmental assistances to beneficiary countries amounts to $5.5 billion.” He called on the conferees to respond to concerns of people of the continent through joint and collective efforts.
Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said the ACD has made great accomplishments but much more is needed to be done. “There is good reason to be pleased with these accomplishments, but I believe the ACD has much more to do to realize the full potential of our ongoing cooperation and that of the region as a whole,” Surapong said during the ACD foreign ministers’ meeting.
The Thai foreign minister, also ACD Coordinator, said the forum, which was launched in 2002, has expanded its activities to cover 20 areas of cooperation, stretching from the economic dimension to social, cultural, educational and technological advancement. He extended his appreciation to member states who made great contributions to enhancing Asian cooperation in the past year, including Kuwait which hosted a seminar on trade and finance and Bahrain which adopted an initiative on energy cooperation.
Surapong said amid economic uncertainty, conflicts and wars, Asia needs to be stronger from within. “With the risk of conflicts and disputes in the region, amicable solutions must be found to reduce tensions and promote mutual understanding.” He stressed that Asian countries must maintain a stable and peaceful regional environment to guarantee that all efforts be directed to promoting economic development and cooperation.
Highlighting his country’s agenda on further enhancing cooperation among ACD members, he said that Thailand’s main focus is on areas of energy security and food security. “We may start from sharing data, expertise and experiences, and improving physical infrastructure and logistics management to ensure efficient access to energy and food supplies,” he said. He also urged oil exporters to ensure the stability and affordability of energy prices.
The Thai minister said that the 32 ACD members need to be more connected in order to facilitate trade, investment, tourism and better understanding among peoples. “Thailand therefore has prepared a concept paper on ACD Enhanced Regional Connectivity,” he said, hoping this paper would be a basis for future cooperation among members. Another priority, he noted, is financial cooperation, emphasizing the need to promote cross-listing on stock markets, signing investment protection accords, and facilitating investment by sovereign funds, social security funds and public and private funds.
He said the Chiang Mai Initiative Multi-lateralization (CMIM), which extends an alternative line of credit to partner governments in times of financial hardship could also be discussed by the ACD. “All of the above cannot be accomplished without the continuity and more structured management of the ACD process,” he said. He expressed his country’s pleasure to host annual consultations between Thailand as ACD coordinator and an ACD tripartite panel to follow up progress and assess short-term goals for cooperation.
Surapong said that the ACD, which enters its second decade, is urged to consider a more formal institutional framework, adding that a permanent secretariat is an option for achieving a more enhanced cooperation. He emphasized that the ACD could be a main platform in finding solutions to common challenges facing the Continent. “Thailand is therefore ready to host the ACD Ministerial Meeting in 2015 and my Prime Minister will announce that Thailand will hold an ACD Summit in the same year”.
Later, Sheikh Sabah and Surapong hosted a press conference for the local and international media covering the summit. Sheikh Sabah noted that during the preparatory meetings on a ministerial level, a number of issues in the Asian continent were discussed addressed which include energy, food security, poverty, sustainable energy, global financial crisis, economic cooperation within the Asian state, global catastrophes as well as cooperation in technical and scientific research. The Kuwaiti foreign minister also congratulated Afghanistan as it assumed membership as one the 32 member countries of the ACD. “Kuwait is very hopeful and very positive about the objective and goals of summit,” he added.
Surapong conveyed his best wishes for Kuwait for hosting a successful first ACD summit. “Since inception in 2002, ACD has been very successful in promoting dialogue beneficial to people’s prosperity and welfare,” he said. A media center and an exhibition containing various stalls of the countries involved in the ACD summit was then inaugurated at the Arraya Ballroom in Sharq.
http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2012/10/15/acd-summit-seeks-to-develop-cooperation/
Asia Cooperation Dialogue
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Cooperation_Dialogue
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