Reliance on own people and capabilities: The path ahead for Asia
- President tells ACD
● Defeat of terrorism mainly through Sri Lanka's
own effort * Asia can rebuild through greater reliance on own
people
● Asian economies facing hardships caused by
others who should share the burdens of recovery.
● Speedy resettlement of IDPs highest priority
of government
 In the defeat of terrorism, while Sri Lanka had the
political support of many friendly nations, success came mainly through
our own effort. The conclusion to be drawn is perhaps, that the problems
of a country can only be resolved by those who know best its ground
realities, namely, by its own people, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa,
in the Keynote Address at the inauguration of the 8th Asian Cooperation
Dialogue Ministerial Meeting, in Colombo today ( 15).
"Asia should strive to regain its independence that is
challenged on many fronts and across many borders. The countries of Asia
can succeed in rebuilding our continent by greater reliance of our own
bonds of unity, strengths of history, and capabilities of our own
people," the President said.
Commenting on the role of financial institutions in
dealing with Asia, President Rajapaksa said they "should be more
concerned about the burdens they impose through conditions for
assistance. The elimination of poverty should not be held ransom to such
conditions. These institutions should recognize the many disadvantages
caused by subsidies implemented by the advanced economies, while
preaching to the developing countries to move away from subsidies.
Similarly, the importance of subsidies in helping the lesser developed
countries to face up to the challenges of growth, also deserve serious
and positive consideration."
The President added that "the speedy resettlement of
internally displaced persons once affected by terrorism is engaging our
utmost attention. It is a significantly more difficult task than most
would imagine. For a democratic government, the key objective is for the
internally displaced to be enabled to depart from the temporary
facilities where they are at present accommodated, to their homes, at
the earliest possible opportunity. But resettlement has to be approached
with care. Large areas where people lived or used for economic activity,
such as agriculture, have been extensively mined by the terrorists.
Those mines have to be removed, but de-mining takes time as it has to be
done with great care and attention, leaving no margin for error.
Here is the text of the President's Keynote Address
to the 8th Asia Cooperation Dialogue, Ministerial Meeting held at BMICH
today (15):
Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegation,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Sri
Lanka..... We are honoured to have friends from all over the Asian
continent gathering here in Colombo on this important occasion.
Asia to which all of us belong has a rich,
multi-faceted heritage of which we must be proud. The four major
religions of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam, have their
origins in Asia. Many civilizations have flourished on its soil at
various times in history leaving in their wake, the influences that
continue to inspire the destinies of this great continent and its
peoples.
In centuries past connectivity was wide-spread
throughout Asia, with the legendary Silk Route linking us with one
another and with Europe. It is through this route that the flavour of
Sri Lanka's spices, for instance, reached Europe, and merchants from the
Orient came in search of business to our island. All this headway that
Asia had made was later lost due to invasions and conquest by the
colonial powers. Therefore, the concept of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue
is indeed an important mechanism for restoring the cooperation that once
existed among the nations of Asia.
Moreover, the theme for the 8th Ministerial Meeting of
the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, "Spirit of Asia: Global Economic Recovery
and Development Prospects", is timely for more reasons than one. Asia
accounts for more than sixty percent of the world's population. With a
growing middle class, it is increasingly proving to be one of the most
lucrative markets in the world. Asia is the largest recipient of global
FDI. Its contribution to the global GDP is close to thirty percent. It
has an abundance of natural resources and the potential to be the
biggest producer of renewable energy in the world. Indeed, the continent
holds out great economic promise. It is the promise of new strengths and
great achievements.
Yet, despite all this promise, let us also not forget
that we are faced with many pressing issues, including the situation of
the global economy being in a very serious crisis that has not been seen
in the last few decades. Its impact on economies that are dependent on
exports for their growth has been particularly strong.
This is a crisis largely imposed on us by those
outside the Asian region. Our economies are today facing hardship due to
the problems caused by others who should share the burdens of recovery.
The countries of Asia, and many others, too, are today carrying the
burdens caused by poor regulation and the encouraging of greed in the
dominant economies of the West. It is a challenge that seeks new
solutions.
We need to turn this challenge into an opportunity by
expanding intra-regional trade and the influence of our financial
markets. Such measures will not only strengthen our competitiveness but
will also help us to build valuable partnerships with other regions, for
the purpose of contributing to global economic well-being. This should
be an area that should engage the attention of the Asia Cooperation
Dialogue.
Another pressing issue confronting our continent is
that relating to poverty. A significant portion of our peoples are
under-privileged, both economically and socially. As one of the critical
objectives of the ACD is to reduce poverty and improve the quality of
life, it is our responsibility to tackle this issue, having carefully
studied those models that have demonstrated their success at the
grass-roots level. We would do well to learn from our own experiences
within our Continent. Let us, keep in mind that for instance, the
Samurdhi Programme of Sri Lanka is one such example from which we can
learn much.
I also want to emphasize in this regard that the
understanding and cooperation of the international financial
inst
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