We pledge to our peoples our joint determination and commitment to bringing the NAASP into reality by implementing concrete actions for the benefit and prosperity of our peoples.

Done in Bandung, Indonesia, on the Twenty-fourth of April in the year Two Thousand and Five, in conjunction with the Commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of the Asian-African? Conference of 1955.

__2. JOINT MINISTERIAL STATEMENT ON THE NEW ASIAN-AFRICAN STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP PLAN OF ACTION__

We, the Ministers of the Asian-African? countries, assembled in Jakarta on 20 April 2005 for the Asian-African? Ministerial Meeting:

Reaffirming our commitment to the Spirit and Principles of Bandung as enshrined in the Final Communique of the 1955 Asian-African? Conference and the Charter of the United Nations;

Acknowledging the need to build a bridge between Asia and Africa based on shared vision and conviction, solidarity, equal partnership, common ownership, mutual respect, interest and strength;

Emphasizing the importance of complementing and building upon existing initiatives as well as internationally agreed development targets and goals emanating from various Conferences and Summits inter alia Millennium Development Goals, Monterrey Consensus, Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and Doha Development Agenda;

Recognizing the need to enhance technical cooperation and capacity building as well as human resource development to address challenges of common concern; Emphasizing the prominent and leading role of all Asian and African regional and sub-regional organizations in the NAASP, and the supportive role of regional development banks and United Nations regional economic commissions in promoting Asian-African? partnership;

Desiring to realize mutually beneficial areas of cooperation that are pragmatic, structured, and sustainable;

To these ends, we shall strive to implement the following concrete measures in three broad areas of partnership, to which we assign special significance:

A. Political solidarity

1. Promoting conditions essential for greater political cooperation and confidence building, conducive to the attainment of peace and stability in both regions;

2. Striving to prevent conflict and resolve disputes by peaceful means including through enhanced dialogue, preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction;

3. Encouraging regional, sub-regional and national mechanisms for preventing conflict and promoting political stability and supporting efforts in peace keeping and post-conflict peace- building;

4. Supporting the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and a lasting peace in the Middle East and calling upon the Quartet and the international community to ensure the implementation of the Roadmap; 5. Strengthening democratic institutions and popular participation by, among others, sharing of best practices and experiences;

6. Promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms through dialogue and capacity building;

7. Strengthening international and inter-regional cooperation to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations in full conformity with international law as well as to address its underlying causes;

8. Combating transnational crimes in all its dimensions inter-alia money laundering, illicit trafficking of drugs, small arms and light weapons as well as trafficking in persons particularly women and children, through capacity building among law enforcement agencies in the two regions;

9. Preventing and combating corruption through promoting good governance and a culture of integrity based on the rule of law;

10. Promoting the reform of the United Nations with the aims of strengthening multilateralism, reinforcing the role of the United Nations in maintaining and promoting international peace, security and sustainable development, as well as ensuring greater participation for and share among Asian and African countries in its decision-making processes.

B. Economic cooperation

1. Supporting efforts to create an enabling international economic environment, which is critical for Asian and African countries to acquire the requisite capacities to successfully compete and fully benefit from globalization;

2. Resolving the issue of poverty in a collective and comprehensive fashion through mobilizing resources for sustained economic growth, resolving debt issues, developing internationally agreed innovative financial mechanisms, capital market cooperation, ensuring flows of international development assistance, improving market access and addressing unfair and trade-distorting subsidies, addressing weak and unstable commodity prices, and enhancing flows of investment;

3. Promoting and facilitating direct trade and investment between Asia and Africa;

4. Maximizing the benefits of trade liberalization through improved market access for products of export interest to Asian and African countries, including by striving to provide voluntary non-reciprocal market access for Asian-African? Least Developed Countries (LDCs);

5. Building effective and targeted technical assistance and capacity building programs to allow Asian and African countries to integrate into the world economy and enhance competitiveness;

6. Striving for sustainable development, food security, and rural development through enhanced cooperation in the areas of agriculture, water resources, fishery, and forestry;

7. Maximizing the benefits arising from the protection of intellectual property rights by inter alia advancing the protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore, as well as from flexibilities provided by trade related intellectual property rights agreements;

8. Strengthening cooperation among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Asian and African Countries by means of education and skill enhancement as well as sharing best practices and experiences;

9. Strengthening cooperation in narrowing the digital divide, creating digital opportunities, and supporting initiatives such as the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) aimed at harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies for development;

10. Fostering research and development and the sharing of relevant technologies, including nanotechnology, biotechnology, and vaccine research; 11. Promoting the development of sustainable energy resources and technologies including geothermal, biogas, solar, hydro-power, and nuclear energy for peaceful purposes;

12. Undertaking joint exploration of the Indian Ocean, including marine resources, marine scientific research, safety of navigation and communication at sea, and search and rescue operations, to further bridge the divide between the two regions;

13. Encouraging the establishment of an Asia–Africa? Business Forum to enable greater contact among private sectors in contributing to increased flows of trade and investment among Asian and African countries.

C. Socio-cultural relations

1. Fostering greater people-to-people contacts so as to enrich civil society and good governance as well as ensure that cooperation development reaches the different levels of society in countries in Asia and Africa;

2. Enhancing dialogue among civilizations, including interfaith dialogues, with a view to promoting peace and development through mutual understanding and tolerance among societies;

3. Promoting mutual understanding of diverse cultures and societies through inter alia cultural exchanges, preserving and restoring the cultural heritage of our peoples and the establishment of a Cultural Dialogue Forum;

4. Advancing youth, gender equality, education, science and technology, with a view to enhancing the capacity of human resources, overcoming illiteracy and improving the quality of life;

5. Fighting against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and various other epidemics and communicable diseases through prevention, treatment and care which are based on the advancement of public community health, a coordinated and sustained global response, as well as greater availability of medicines at an affordable price;

6. Enhancing the role of the media in promoting the sharing of information and greater knowledge of the ways of life in Asian and African countries;

7. Developing a network among universities, libraries, research institutions and centers of excellence in Asia and Africa, including linkages with existing regional, inter-regional and international agencies, with a view to sharing and expanding the pool of resources, skills and knowledge as well as developing mechanisms for scholarships and exchanges;

8. Building cooperation to improve environment protection, through inter-alia, responsible use of nonrenewable natural resources, transfer of environmentally sound technology;

9. Striving for improved management and conservation of biodiversity while respecting and protecting the rights and socio-cultural practices of local communities;

10. Advancing efforts to create an emergency preparedness mechanism and early warning system concomitant with on-going efforts to better deal with and mitigate natural disasters.

We appreciate the efforts of several countries and organizations that conducted studies, as mandated by the Asian-African? Sub-Regional? Organizations (AASROC) Ministerial Working Group Meeting and AASROC II.

We express our satisfaction with the deliberations of the Sub-Regional? Organizations in also providing concrete recommendations to further our cooperation.

We welcome the efforts of the business community to promote closer economic and trade cooperation through the convening of the First Asian-African? Business Summit. We look forward to continued progress and interaction between our business communities.

We acknowledge with appreciation the outcomes emanating from the Workshop on the Role of Women and Youth in Furthering Asia-Africa? Cooperation as well as the Asian-African? Symposium on Renewable Energy.

We welcome the generosity of the Provincial Government of West Java in providing a venue in Bandung, Indonesia, for the establishment of an Asian African Village in celebration of the mutual bond of friendship between Africa and Asia.

We note with appreciation the Co-chairmanship of Indonesia and South Africa, and the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements made for the Meeting by the Government and people of the Republic of Indonesia.