Statement by President Ghani at the 4th Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan Publish Date: Oct 31, 2014 Category: General Beijing, China 31 October 2014 Excellency Prime Minister Li, Distinguished Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegations, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be in Beijing, again, where version 3. O of globalization is being changed to version 4.0, a version where the people of all continents will hopefully become stakeholders and shareholders in our interconnected world. East Asia’s epic journey from conflict and poverty to stability and prosperity provides lessons in overcoming the past. President Erdogan, my dear friend, articulated the Istanbul process during his premiership. We gratefully acknowledge his stewardship of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process and his and the Government of Turkey’s resolute support for peace and stability in his new office. We also appreciate the leadership of President Nazarbayev and the Government of Kazakhstan in hosting the previous meeting of this distinguished group. Turkey and Kazakhstan each have demonstrated that clear vision and leadership can transform countries in West Asia and Central Asia into roundabouts, places of meting of people, intersection of ideas and hubs for movement of goods and building of networks of connectivity. West Asia, however, otherwise known as Middle East is again haunted by specter of conflict. The long Asian war, now active now dormant, has entered a new phase of destructiveness. As the international system depends on each constituent state fulfilling the rights and obligations of statehood, failure of politics in several states puts a strain on the entire state system. Failing or weak states, in turn, provide the breeding ground both for nihilistic politics and criminal networks. The interpenetration of destructive politics and criminality, presenting the ugly side of globalization, give these networks a speediness and flexibility that severely tests the capacity of hierarchical organizations to respond. The remedy, surely, lies in the collective and coordinated response of the state system against the threat posed by non-state actors and disavowal of all states to resorting to or supporting non-state actors dedicated to the destruction of states. Having been the first country to be plunged into the vicious circle of conflict in 1978, we, the Afghan people and Government of National Unity, are determined to be the first country to initiate the virtuous circle of peace, prosperity and stability through consolidation of the democratic process as enshrined in our constitution. Facing four critical and simultaneous transitions, we are committed to turn the coming decade into a period of sustainable transformation for our people by transforming our country into an Asian Roundabout and cross road again, renewing our period of ancient glory of the Silk Route, as the Prime Minister Li mentioned. Our political transition is well underway. Eschewing the mentality of winner take all that would have eventuated into a politics of exclusion, we have a government of national unity to honor the epic participation of all Afghan citizens in the election that has resulted in the first transfer of authority from one elected president to another through the direct will of the people. My colleague and partner, Dr. Abdullah, the broad spectrum of the public and the political elite, and I honor President Karzai for his historic role in permitting transition and facilitating the transition to take place. Our work in this sphere has just commenced, for we are determined to bring all political actors into the legitimate sphere of politics and put an end to notions of parallel government(s). Peace is our highest priority. We invite the political opposition, particularly the Taliban, to join an inter-Afghan dialogue and ask all our international partners to support an Afghan led and Afghan-owned peace process. We must not and will not permit groups pursuing grand illusions to use our country as the battleground or launching pad against the international system. As our will for reform has been clearly demonstrated during the month since the inauguration, there should be no doubt that we are delivering on our promises to our masters, the Afghan citizens. Determined to address corruption, exclusion, and injustice, we stand ready to resolve political differences through political means. Our quest for peace, however, is a reflection of strength derived from the desire of the citizenry and all-volunteer armed forces dedicated to fulfilling their patriotic duty to safeguard and defend our homeland and motherland. On December 31, 2014, as originally scheduled, the combat role of international forces will end and the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) will take sole responsibility for the security of our country. Let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to the sacrifices of all our partner countries in NATO-ISAF, particularly the brave young men and women, who along with their Afghan comrades, paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. Permit me to thank President Obama and the leaders of countries committed to NATO’s resolute mission for affirmation of the commitments made in Lisbon and Chicago to support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces during the decade of 2014-2024. As Commander-in-Chief, I am determined to forge deep bonds of trust between our citizens, security forces, and the state. To ensure that the weight does not unevenly fall on the shoulders of our brave men and women in uniform, we are committed to carry out a comprehensive reform of our legal and judicial, governance, economic and cultural institutions. Our economic transition poses stark challenges. We have taken office at a time when the national exchequer faces a serious shortfall in the collection of projected revenue, thereby confronting us with a significant budget deficit. More ominously, we have lacked an economic outlook to enable us to confront an overcome the criminal, illegal, and informal components of our economy. To overcome these obstacles and create a sustainable fiscal foundation for a functioning state, we are determined to forge an economic system that would permit us to meld our location, our water, land and mineral resources, the entrepreneurial energies of our people and the significant sums of money accumulated by individuals, families and firms into a system that can generate legitimate wealth and first class services for our people. Our intense dialogue with our private sector and our determined efforts to reform our revenue organizations and security forces should create the confidence among Afghan and international firms that our country is truly open for business. We do not ask the international community for charity. We are determined first to do what is essential to put our house in order but we greatly appreciate President Xi and Prime Minister Li commitment to help Afghanistan and we hope others will follow the suit in terms of matching our reform efforts and supporting them. The youth, women and the poor constitute three numerical majorities that have hitherto occupied the roles of economic and political minorities. As the election, put an end to the notion of the silent majority, our fourth and most significant transition is to change the culture of the state and the relation between the citizen, as the principal, and the state, as the agent. Empowerment of the youth, women, and the poor, therefore, is central both to the credibility and sustainability of reforms and stability and social harmony. Fortunately, our youth, as demonstrated in sports, have shown that we can aspire to and attain the highest standards. The same applies to the energies of our women and the dignity of our poor, who almost always prefer honest work to charity. We truly need to learn to fish, not be given fish. Ladies and Gentlemen: Geography has placed us at the heart of Asia and history has made us a pivotal intersection of contending powers and ideas. Foreign policy, therefore, is intrinsically connected with domestic policy for us. Recognizing that we are at the intersection of five circles of international relations, our goal is to provide the platform for collaboration of these states, organizations, powers and networks of virtue. Our immediate six neighbors form our first circle. The Islamic world forms our second circle. North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and members of NATO-ISAF form our third circle. Asia, being transformed into a continental economy, forms our fourth circle. And international development organizations, the UN, multinational firms, and international civil society and non-governmental organizations form our fifth circle.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 14:11:21 +0000
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