Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, to Co-Chair Asian-African Sub-Regional Organisations Conference (AASROC), Durban, South Africa, 23 - 24 March 2004

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, will co-chair together with her Indonesian counterpart, Dr Noer Hassan Wirajuda, the first ministerial meeting of the Asian-African Sub-Regional Organisations Conference (AASROC) in Durban on Wednesday 24 March 2004.

An African Consultative meeting will be held on Tuesday 23 March 2004 in Durban to develop modalities, operational approaches and formats for co-operation to be discussed at the Ministerial meeting on Wednesday, 24 March 2004.

Issues on the agenda include, among others:

• Structures for co-operation between Africa and Asia;
• Contribution of Asian-African Sub-Regional Organisations towards a New Strategic Partnership; and
• Levels, time frames and composition of dialogue in the areas of co-operation identified by AASROC I.

Other participants in this meeting include: Mozambican Foreign Minister, Dr Leonardo Santos Simao; Indian Foreign Minister, Yashwant Sinha; Tananzian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ghanian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Akwasi Osei-Adjei; Kenyan Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Moses Wetang'ula; Sudanese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdelrahman El-Hag Mukhtar; Executive Secretary of SADC, Dr Prega Ramsamy; and representatives from Algieria, Libya, Morocco, Uganda, China, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, ASEAN, the African Union, Arab Maghreb Union, Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern African (COMESA), Community of Sahel and Sahara and Saharan States (CEN-SAD), and East African Community (EAC).

AASROC is a re-invigoration of the principles and process of co-operation between Asia and Africa as envisaged by the Asia-Africa Conference (AAC) that took place in Bandung, Indonesia from 18 to 24 April 1955 which considered problems of common interest and concern and discussed ways and means by which the peoples of the two continents could achieve fuller economic, cultural and political co-operation.

The leaders of Asia and Africa who participated in the AAC, enunciated a vision of a world order of independence, peace, justice and common prosperity. They crafted a new ethos to govern the relationship between nations, based on the Ten Principles of Bandung. The final document of the AAC stated that friendly co-operation in accordance with these principles would effectively contribute to the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security, while co-operation in the economic, social and cultural field would help bring about the common prosperity and well being of all.

AASROC I which convened on 29 and 30 July 2003 in Bandung, Indonesia, co-chaired by Ministers Dlamini Zuma and Dr Noer Hassan Wirajuda, discussed areas of co-operation and issues of strategic importance. Elements identified in this regard that might constitute a framework for the New Strategic Partnership were:

• Promoting human resources development through training and capacity building programs.
• Strengthening and reinvigorating regional commitments to multilateralism, including reform of multilateral institutions.
• Strengthening the multilateral trading system, to ensure that Asia and Africa benefit.
• Enhancing the role of international institutions, including sub-regional organisations and donor communities, to support Asia-Africa development.
• Strengthening South-South Co-operation.
• Strengthening efforts to achieve development goals, including promotion of sustainable development, financing for development, debt relief and management, poverty alleviation, HIV/AIDS and other major diseases that afflict humanity.
• Increasing co-operation on trade, industry, investment, and finance in order to bolster intra-regional trade and investment, including the possibility of creating Free Trade Arrangements/Preferential Trade Arrangements.
• Enhancing co-operation in selected areas, among others, agriculture, human resources development, infrastructure development, transportation as well as communication technology.
• Fostering a policy dialogue on collective security and conflict resolutions, including peace making, peace keeping, and post-conflict peace building.
• Establishing a policy dialogue on trans-boundary issues including health, environment, trans-national crimes and terrorism.
• Establishing a policy dialogue on human rights, good governance and democracy
• Promoting participation of civil society in the business sector, particularly small, micro and medium-sized enterprises.
• Enhancing training and capacity building programmes.

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853.

Department of Foreign Affairs

Private Bag X152

Pretoria

0001

21 March 2004

BACKGROUND

Ten Principles of Bandung

• Respect for fundamental human rights and for the purposes and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
• Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
• Recognition of the equality of all races and of the equality of all nations large and small.
• Abstention from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of another country.
• Respect for the right of each nation to defend itself singly or collectively, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.
• (a) Abstention from the use of arrangements of collective defence to serve the particular interests of any of the big powers.
• Abstention by any country from exerting pressures on other countries
• Refraining from acts or threats of aggression or the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any country.
• Settlement of all international disputes by peaceful means, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties' own choice, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.
• Promotion of mutual interests and co-operation.
• Respect for justice and international obligations.