بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Kabul (BNA)
Your Highness,
Distinguished Heads of State and Governments,
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to begin by thanking His Highness, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al-Jaber Al Sabah, the Emir of the State of Kuwait for inviting Afghanistan to participate in this historic summit of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue. May I also thank His Highness the Amir and the people of Kuwait for the excellent arrangement, warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to us all. I take the opportunity to also thank all members of the (ACD) for supporting the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s membership to this very important regional forum for cooperation and dialogue.
Afghanistan believes that it was an excellent initiative by the Kingdom of Thailand to launch in 2002 the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, as a continental forum for integrating all aspects of Asia’s strengths and transforming the vast continent into a desirable unified community.
The State of Kuwait deserves our especial gratitude not only for hosting this First ACD Summit and its hospitality, but also for its active support in strengthening the ACD to serve the interests of the people of Asia, and their aspiration for a peaceful, stable and prosperous future. In this context, we applaud His Highness for his proposal to establish the ACD Trust Fund for the development efforts in the least developed Asian countries and his announcement to contribute 300 million dollars towards the target amount of 2 billion USD. We hope that other member states will also generously contribute to the Trust Fund for the good of the entire continent.
I am confident that together we can realize the goals and objectives of the ACD to consolidate Asian potentials by maximizing the diversity and rich resources of our continent.
Afghanistan respects the core principles of the ACD, namely positive thinking; informality; voluntarism; openness and respect for diversity.
Mr. Chairman,
The ACD as a continent-wide forum, and as the first of its kind in Asia can constitute the missing link in Asia by incorporating every Asian country and building an Asian Community without duplicating other organizations or creating a bloc against others.
We believe that ACD provides a unique opportunity to discuss and engage in sincere and result-oriented dialogue with a view to addressing the peace, security and development challenges that confront us all in different ways. This Forum can enable us to further strengthen peaceful co-existence among cultures and civilizations in our continent.
Your Highness, ladies and gentlemen,
I am fully confident that our membership in this very important Asian Cooperation Dialogue will further provide the opportunity to better strengthen our regional cooperation for the well being of our continent and beyond.
In conclusion, let me once again thank the State of Kuwait for hosting this Fist Summit of the ACD and reiterate our commitment and support for the this timely and important initiative for our continent.
Thank you very much
