Jordan Times
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Int’l cooperation vital to
peace and development - King
SHARM EL SHEIKH (Petra/AFP) - His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday reiterated
the importance of action by the international community to resolve regional
conflicts, especially the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In his address at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, delivered by Prime
Minister Nader Dahabi, the King said: “In Jordan, we believe that the starting
point to achieving international cooperation and solidarity for peace and
development lies in renewing trust in multilateral diplomacy and activating the
role of collective diplomacy, represented by the United Nations.”
Foremost among the issues that need to be addressed is the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict and its broader frame reflected in the Arab-Israeli conflict, the King
said, reiterating that “the question of achieving a just and a comprehensive
solution that guarantees the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,
especially the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the national
Palestinian soil, is a top priority for Jordan”.
King Abdullah expressed optimism regarding the opportunity at hand for achieving
comprehensive peace.
He stressed at the summit, held under the slogan "International Solidarity for
Peace and Development", that Israel needs to stop all unilateral actions, which,
he said, pose an obstacle to peace.
The Monarch reiterated that Israel needs to immediately and completely stop the
construction and expansion of settlements and end all measures that may distort
the identity of Jerusalem and threaten its Arab Muslim and Christian people.
Also yesterday, Dahabi, who is chairing the Jordanian delegation to the two-day
summit, underlined the topics addressed by the NAM summit, especially the
question of regional peace and development-related issues, during his meetings
with several leaders and senior officials participating in the summit.
On the sidelines of the NAM summit, Dahabi met with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas, Iraq’s Vice President Tariq Hashemi and several ministers of
neighbouring countries. Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh attended the
talks.
During his meeting with Abbas, Dahabi stressed the King’s keenness on
maintaining continued coordination and consultation between Jordan and the
Palestinians in all fields, especially on political issues.
Dahabi stressed the King’s support for Abbas and the Palestinian National
Authority.
The premier briefed Abbas on the efforts exerted by King Abdullah in
coordination with Arab and world leaders to relaunch serious negotiations to end
the conflict based on the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative.
Dahabi discussed with Hashemi the latest developments in Iraq, especially the
recent withdrawal of foreign forces from its cities. Dahabi welcomed the
withdrawal, as it represents a step towards Iraq regaining its strength and
stability to reassume its regional and international role.
Hashemi expressed appreciation for Jordan's continued support for Iraq in all
fields.
Also, during meetings with his counterparts from Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Djibouti, Dahabi reviewed relations between Jordan and these
countries. Dahabi also briefed them on the King’s intensive efforts towards the
relaunch of Mideast peace talks.
At his meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikha Hasina, the premier
reiterated the need for work to stop any abuse of Islam, highlighting the Amman
Message launched by King Abdullah, which calls for moderation and acceptance of
others and seeks to clarify the true image of Islam.
More than 50 heads of state from the developing world attended yesterday's
summit, aimed in part at tackling the fallout from the global economic meltdown,
with calls for a "new world order" to prevent a repeat of the crisis.
Cuban President Raul Castro said in a speech at the opening session that the
financial crisis had hit developing nations the hardest.
"Every country in the world must seek just solutions to the global economic
crisis," Castro told the 118-member body at the gathering.
"We call for a new monetary and economic world order... we must restructure the
world financial system to take into consideration the needs of developing
countries."
Global power dynamics also need to be addressed, Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi
said, demanding a restructuring of the UN Security Council which he branded a
form of terrorism "monopolised by a few countries that are permanent members".
"This represents a danger towards international peace. We have suffered all
sorts of harm from the Security Council, it has become a sword over our necks,"
he said.
India said members should play a greater role on the world stage.
"Decision-making processes, whether in the United Nations or the international
financial institutions, continue to be based on charters written more than 60
years ago, though the world has changed greatly since then," Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said.
"Developing countries must be fully represented in the decision-making levels of
international institutions," Singh said.
But the developing world's military ambitions looked set to steal the summit
limelight, with nuclear-armed South Asian foes India and Pakistan to hold talks
today aimed at relaunching stalled peace talks.
New Delhi and Islamabad's fraught relations deteriorated after terror attacks in
the Indian commercial capital Mumbai in November last year which killed 166
people.
The attacks were blamed by India on the banned Pakistani militant group
Lashkar-e-Toiba, and Pakistan has acknowledged they were partially planned on
its soil.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon met his Pakistani counterpart Salim
Bashir on Tuesday ahead of the meeting between Singh and Pakistani Prime
Minister Yusuf Reza Gilani.
Singh has voiced hope that Pakistan will promise action against those behind the
attacks when he meets Gilani for only the second high-level contact between the
two sides since the Mumbai bombings.
Pakistan has said that it would "probably" put the five accused of involvement
in the attacks on trial next week.
The attacks left in tatters a fragile peace process launched in 2004 to resolve
all outstanding issues of conflict, including a territorial dispute over the
divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir.
India, along with host Egypt, is one of the founding members of the NAM, the
largest grouping of countries outside of the United Nations, aimed at giving a
voice to the developing world.
Founded in 1955, NAM's 118 member states represent around 56 per cent of the
global population. NAM states consider themselves not formally aligned with or
against any major power bloc.
Set up during the Cold War, the movement sought to distance itself from both the
Western and Soviet blocs, but today its raison d'etre is questioned after the
collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing shift in power politics.