Doha 30th Sept 2017
Thousands of people watched in admiration as a Qatar Airways aircraft flew in formation over Doha with the world-famous Red Arrows aerobatic display team, an event taking place as the airline celebrates its twentieth anniversary.
The event was hosted on the vast beach side of Sheraton Grand Doha Resort and Convention Hotel by Ajay Sharma, British Ambassador to the State of Qatar and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker. Present on the occasion were Mohammed bin Abdullah AlRumaihi, Qatar’s Minister of Municipality and Environment, UK's Secretary of State for Wales Rt. Hon. Alun Cairns MP, Guest of Honour on the occasion, Abdullah bin Nasser Turki Al Subaey, Chairman, Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority, a number of ambassadors, representatives of the Qatar British Business Association and members of Int'l & local media.
The thrilling display took place in the skies above Doha's iconic Corniche in today's afternoon as a state-of-the-art Qatar Airways Airbus A350, for which the airline was the global launch customer, flew in formation with the British Royal Air Force’s (RAF) iconic Red Arrows. Their distinctive fleet of Hawk jets were on hand to display the speed, agility and precision of the RAF and fly in their trademark diamond nine formation to join in the salute to Qatar Airways and its 20 years of operations.
'Red Arrows' UK's Royal Air Force aerobatic team performed 4th time in Doha skies demonstrating strong ties between Qatar and United Kingdom. Both the countries enjoy close relations in wide range of areas including Trade & Investment, Defence, Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM).
Wing Commander Andrew Keith, Officer Commanding 'Red Arrows' siad on the occasion, 'Overseas tours such as this are one of the key roles of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic team. We regularly travel abroad during the display season to promote both the 'best of British'. He said that it also provides opportunities for defence engagement and promoting STEM through events with students and educational institutes.
British Envoy, Ajay Sharma welcoming Red Arrows to Qatar said that such visits are a very visible demonstration and celebration of the strength of UK-Qatar relations. They showcase the best of the UK from the technical mastery of the pilots to the excellence of our engineering and aviation industry. I hope this will inspire new generations to get involved and study STEM subjects.
Ambassador Ajay Sharma paid his special thanks to 'key partners and sponsors, Qatar Airways and Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and AlFardan Premier Motors' celebrating 2oth anniversary of Qatar Airways'.
British MP & Secretary of State Cairns said, ' I am delighted to be in Doha on this important day to celebrate the links between our two countries, and to further celebrate 20th anniversary of Qatar Airways. The airline has this year announced the launch of a new frequent service from Cardiff Airport, linking South Wales to Qatar and significant global markets via its capital city in 2018. I met regularly with senior managers at Qatar Airways to help secure this service. This new route will send a positive message about an outward looking Wales developing international trade & tourism links to the rest of the world'.
Akbar AlBaker, Qatar Airways Group CEO said, ' Today the Red Arrows have helped Qatar Airways celebrate in style to reach a major milestone in our history, with a thrilling display to mark our 20th anniversary. We were delighted to have them join one of our Airbus A350 aircraft in this historic fly-by over the impressive Doha skyline. I am very proud of all that Qatar Airways has achieved in the past 20 years and as we embark on the next 20 years I look forward to continuing to demonstrate the passion, innovation and award-winning customer service we have become renowned for'.
Qatar's Minister of Municipality & Environment in his exclusive talk with Editor www.asiantelegraphqatar.com said that Qatar Airways has completed it's mission in last 20 years. It is the best airline of the world today with modern technology and best fleet of aircrafts. Qatar Airways reaches today to the far and difficult destinations providing best service to the passengers as well as it's large cargo fleet with economic service.
It is to note that Red Arrows has a team of 10 members in which during 2010 and 2013, there were lady pilots also. Member of Red Arrows Team stay maximum for three years and move forward to it's routine air force flying.
Last time, Red Arrows performed in Doha in 2013.
Doha 27 Sept 2017
The Expatriates’ Exit Grievances Committee organized an introductory seminar on its functions and services recently at the Officers' Club of the General Directorate of Civil Defence. The event was attended by Brig. Salem Saqr Al Muraikhi, Director of Legal Affairs Department, Ministry of Interior and Chairman of the Committee, Lt Colonel Muhammad Ali al Kubaisi, Human Rights Department, Saleh Rashid Al Kuwari, Representative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Capt. Juma Ali Al Buainain, Rapporteur and Secretary of the Committee and Nayef Musabih Al-Shammari, National Human Rights Committee and large representation of number of Asian communities.
Brig. Salem Saqr Al-Murikhi said that the Ministry of Interior was keen to deliver the services of the committee to all walk of the communities in order to strengthen the coordination between the relevant authorities in the State. He said that the committee has been working for more than six months and has handled many complaints that have been resolved in a way that satisfies all parties. He emphasized the keenness of the Ministry of Interior to respect the rights of expatriate workers and keep the stability between the employees and employers.
Capt. Juma Ali Al-Buainain presented the functions and services of the committee. He said that the establishment of the committee came within the context of the major changes introduced by Law No. (21)/ 2015 compared to the previous law No. 4/ 2009. He added that according to the article No.(7)of the Law No.(1 / 2017), an expatriate has the right to exit from the country for leave or for an emergency reason or any other reason after informing the recruiter as per labor contract. An expatriate has the right for final exit from the country before the expiry of the labor contract period after informing the recruiter based on the labor agreement.
If the recruiter or the competent authority refuses to grant exit permit or refuses the permission for final leaving of the expatriate from the country, the expatriate can approach and appeal to the Exit Permit Grievances Committee. The Committee has to take its decision on the appeal within three working days.
Regarding the work mechanism of the committee he said the appellant should submit his appeal to the secretariat of the Committee in the prescribed form prepared by the Committee along with attachment of supporting documents for his grievance appeal. The concerned officer at the secretariat of the committee will receive the appeal and register it in the registry and the appellant will receive a notification with grievance No. and date of appeal submission. The appeal should be reviewed by the committee in the first meeting after submitting the appeal.
The committee will notify its decision the concerned administrative unit in the Ministry, recruiter and expatriate by any means of communication like fax, telephone or SMS.
All inquiries can be made through the email : EPGC@moi.gov.qa.
Beijing 27 Sept. 2017 (APP)
While supporting President Xi’s advocacy for cooperation and collaboration in terms of ensuring national security, Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that this vision of shared responsibility and shared concern for everyone is needed at this time.
Ahsan Iqbal who represented Pakistan at the opening ceremony of 86th General Assembly of Interpol here told China.org.cn that around 70,000 Pakistanis have been killed as a result of terrorism during the past decade, making Pakistan the greatest victim of terrorism over this period.
But in the last four years, the country has amassed experience in fighting terrorism, and is willing to share it with other countries.
“We look forward to working very closely with China as well as our friends in other countries to create a safer world, not just in our region, but around the whole world, so that we are able to cooperate to deal with new challenges like drug trafficking, cybercrime, technology-driven crime,” he added.
“Therefore President Xi’s offer — to help developing countries establish abilities in fighting new types of crime through training police and through capacity building of security agencies — is very timely and much appreciated,” he continued.
In his speech, the Chinese president vowed stronger support for Interpol in the five years to come to raise its global influence and leadership.
US and ISAF Policy in Afghanistan is in doldrums. With the drawdown of the US ground combat elements in Afghanistan, the onus of preventing the Taliban overrunning the Afghan National Government has now squarely shifted to the Afghan National Army, which the US has spent a fortune to raise, arm and train.
The recent deadly Taliban attack at a northern army base in Afghanistan that killed over 140 Afghan soldiers and civilians has exposed what many experts both in USA and abroad had repeatedly warned-nepotism, corruption and desertion has rendered the Afghan National Army unfit to ward off a resurgent Taliban offensive. Reports emanating from within indicate the Taliban attackers had help from the inside, by Taliban sympathizers who had been recruited as soldiers in the Afghan National Army and were deployed at the base under attack.
Is a Vietnam War ending in Afghanistan on the card? The Taliban already exercise de-facto control over 40% of Afghanistan and chances are post ISAF exit, the country would degenerate into the kind of civil war witnessed from 1990 to 1995. Afghanistan has already gained the dubious reputation as the longest combat operations undertaken by the US forces in history, with no end in sight.
Rather than accepting policy and strategy failures that have resulted in the present quagmire, the US military commanders and administration prefer to shift the blame on neighbouring Pakistan. The validity of their accusations and charges need close scrutiny.
Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in December 2001, to punish the Taliban government in Afghanistan for giving shelter to Osama bin Laden, considered the mastermind of the 9/11 attack. Pakistan was made a reluctant ally based on the threat of “either you are with us or against us” and the implied warning of being “bombed to the stone-age”.
The military operation succeeded in dislodging the Taliban but by allowing their fighters to survive due to faulty strategy, failed to complete the operational cycle.
The US airpower paralyzed the Taliban forces that allowed the pro US Northern Alliance conglomerate to advance and claim victory. Barring a handful of US Special Forces no US ground combat element participated in the campaign.
The Taliban leading commanders and their foot soldiers managed to slip away into neighbouring Pakistan’s tribal region of South Waziristan relatively unscathed. Even Osama bin Laden, the principal target of the operations evaded capture and escaped when he was trapped in the Tora Boar Valley, because of paucity of US ground troops in the area. The US commanders failed to appreciate the lack of professionalism of the Northern Alliance military and their susceptibility and penchant to bribery. Reports of the Taliban fighters given safe passage after payment of money have been confirmed by independent sources.
Taliban diaspora in South Waziristan managed to recoup and prepare for a counteroffensive. The 2003 US pivot when it shifted focus on military operation from Afghanistan to Iraq provided the Taliban the opportunity they were seeking. Pakistan came under intense US pressure to destroy the Taliban sanctuaries in South Waziristan.
Operation Al Mizan was launched by the Pakistan Army to expel the Taliban from South Waziristan. Employment of a conventional war fighting strategy against an adversary waging an asymmetric war was doomed to fail. Al Mizan failed to achieve its military objective and Pakistan signed a truce with the adversary that angered the Americans who accused Pakistan of a sellout.
The Haqqani network in North Waziristan was and still remains the principal bone of contention between USA and Pakistan. The former accuses the latter of being in league with the Haqqanis considered the prime threat to ISAF and the Afghan government. Pakistan, on the other hand has always denied the charges and tried to explain that it just did not have the necessary wherewithal to simultaneously start major military offensives in Swat, South Waziristan and North Waziristan where the Taliban and the TTP had established their stronghold. It had to prioritize and tackle them one by one, starting with the Swat Valley. Going after the Haqqanis was delayed until 2013 because of some genuine concerns and some perceptions that (with hindsight) should have been ignored.
A timeline on how Pakistan tackled the Taliban insurgency in its tribal belts would better explain Pakistan’s position in handling the Haqqani crisis.
Without revamping the military doctrine and strategy, operations against the Taliban would have been counter-productive. As it was, the Al Mizan campaign has cost Pakistan dearly in the shape of the rise of the Tehreek e Taliban (TTP) whose sole objective is to wage a war against the state of Pakistan. It took nearly four years for the Pakistan Armed Forces to get its act together and develop a fresh sub conventional war fighting doctrine. This was initially tested in the 2007 military operation in Swat where partial success was achieved.
Fazullah, the rebel leader, escaped but his private army continued to haraas the federal forces deployed. The militants operating under Fazlullah signed a 16-point peace treaty with the then NWFP (renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) government in May 2008 and agreed to disband the militia. Fazullah’s reign of terror, however, did not abate and eventually the federal government scrapped the treaty and ordered the military to launch a fresh campaign to dislodge the insurgents.
Operation Rah e Rast was initiated in April 2009 and Fazlullah and his band were routed. Fazlullah managed to survive and has since taken refuge in the eastern province of Afghanistan from where he continues to launch subversive raids against Pakistan.
South Waziristan was next on the list. Another military assault codenamed Rah e Nijat in October 2009 destroyed the TTP and Taliban infrastructure, bringing the unruly tribal agency under control. North Waziristan was the final phase of the campaign against the Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan. Compared to Swat and South Waziristan, North Waziristan was the most formidable challenge, given the very rugged topography that favoured the insurgents whose rank and file had swelled by the TTP remnants who had survived the South Waziristan offensive.
General Ashfaq Kayani, the Army Chief until 2013 was reluctant to take on North Waziristan until Swat and South Waziristan gains were consolidated. The attack on the Army Public School in December 2013 convinced Kayani’s successor General Raheel Sharif that North Waziristan operations could no longer be delayed.
Operation Zarb e Azb began in 2014 and the Haqqani network including other Taliban factions were uprooted.
Despite Pakistan’s plea, the Afghan government and ISAF did not take necessary measures to create an anvil on their side to crush the retreating Haqqani forces making a beeline towards the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. The Haqqanis and the TTPs are now firmly ensconced in Afghanistan and are freely carrying out murderous raids both against Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Afghan government and ISAF admit to the presence of these factions in their land but plead inability to expel them. The shoe is now on the other foot and Pakistan rightfully complains about the inability or unwillingness of Afghanistan and ISAF from preventing use of their territory from cross-border terror raids inside Pakistan.
Are remnants of Haqqani group and other local and foreign terrorists still present in North Waziristan? Yes, some have taken refuge in the villages and the country side not only in North Waziristan but in other tribal belts that had been cleared of the insurgents. Their sleeper cells which had been pre-positioned in the urban centres of Pakistan have been activated. The current spate of suicide attacks in all the four provinces of Pakistan is the result.
The nation’s military and intelligence agencies are engaged in the final urban warfare phase of the campaign, a phase that is messy, expensive and time-consuming. Intelligence based air and land strikes are a continuous process and are being carried out periodically against these groups.
Sixteen years of continuous US military action in Afghanistan and an investment of over a trillion US dollars in the process has failed to subdue the resurgent Taliban and stabilize Afghanistan. And yet, USA continues to blame Pakistan for not doing enough against the terror elements operating in and from Pakistan. They even fail to appreciate and acknowledge that Pakistan with far lesser resources has achieved major military successes in destroying the Taliban infrastructure at a horrendous cost of life and limb. To continue to accuse Pakistan of not doing enough is so wrong and so unfair.
To better comprehend whether the litany of charges by USA about Pakistan being the primary factor for the US failure in Afghanistan are true or false, a critical examination of the US policy in Afghanistan would be in order.
US invasion of Afghanistan became unavoidable after the Taliban government refused to hand over OBL, the alleged mastermind and financier of the twin tower attack. If Bush (junior) had followed in the footstep of his father, Bush (senior), the 41st US President and kept the political objective of Operation Enduring Freedom limited to ousting of the Taliban regime rather than reshaping the Afghan polity to reflect the western democratic value, the current disaster could have been averted.
In 1990 under the presidency of his father Bush (senior), the US pulled out lock stock and barrel from Afghanistan after the Soviet military was forced to withdraw from Afghanistan. A year later in 1991 despite exhortations of some of his top military commanders, he restricted the political objective of the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) to simply forcing Saddam out of Kuwait. He refused to follow up into Iraq after Saddam’s military was expelled from Kuwait, letting the people of Iraq determine who and how they should be governed.
During the Taliban rule from 1995 to 2001, despite gross human rights violation and non recognition of their government by USA and practically the rest of the world, the US major multinational oil company Unocal was negotiating an oil pipeline deal with them. The US ambassador to Pakistan Robert Oakley was actively involved in the negotiations that eventually failed.
The Taliban might have regained power if the US had withdrawn after toppling the Taliban regime by November 2001; it would have been much chastened and infinitely less disastrous than the current catastrophe – and over trillion US dollars spent to date in Afghanistan, the loss of about 4000 US troops and civilian contractors and the gradual erosion of the US hard and soft power would have been averted.
Obama inherited the Afghanistan mess from his predecessor when he took office as the US President in 2009. Presidential candidate Obama had pronounced Afghanistan as the good war, a war of necessity, unlike the Iraq war, which he had termed as a war of choice that should have been avoided.
Soon after taking office, he realized the political objectives of the Afghan War was unachievable and he seriously considered a phased drawdown. His military commanders, however, fervently believed that if given additional troops, the US military was capable of achieving what the political leadership considered unattainable. They urged him to grant a troop surge. Obama reluctantly caved in but gave the military about half the numbers they had requested for and set a deadline after which the troop withdrawal would be imitated. It was a classic case of “between two stools” syndrome and the resultant failure of the policy was a foregone conclusion.
Towards the end of his term Obama’s Afghanistan policy had pivoted from a “good war” to “Afghanistan good enough” that echoed the sentiments and war fighting strategy of the 41st US President, George H.W Bush. By the time his tenure as the US President was drawing to a close, combat operations by ISAF had been brought to an end but the US air armada remained in position – it was a case of too little and too late.
President Donald Trump has inherited the Afghanistan mess and so far no clear guidelines on the Afghan imbroglio have come out of the Trump White House. It appears the Obama exit strategy of arming and training the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to a level where they can, with the help of US airpower, keep the Taliban at bay is still in play. Even this reduced objective appears unachievable.
How bad it is the state of affairs in the ANA and ANSF? A few excerpts from American and Afghan investigative journalists and Generals would illustrate the fatal flaws that afflict both ANA and ANSF.
Jessica Donati and Ehsanullah Amiri writing for the Wall Street Journal state, “US military wipes out 30,000 names of suspected ghost Afghan soldiers. The move is a part of a broader effort by the US military to take more drastic approach to corruption in Afghanistan. Half of US purchased fuel in Afghanistan is being siphoned off by senior Afghan military commanders. General Moin Faqir of ANA fired and is under investigation.
“Mujib Mashal for the New York Times writes, “Soldiers were to be recruited and trained, and armed with new equipment. A new commander trumpeted as visionary and clean of corruption, was appointed to rebuild and reform the unit, which was a shambles just a year after taking charge of security in Helmand from the American-led NATO coalition. Casualties were at a record high, the leadership was corrupt, and many of the soldiers existed only on paper.
“US funds fed corruption in Afghanistan eroding security fighting Taliban. Corruption undermines the US mission in Afghanistan by fuelling grievances against the Afghan government and channeling support to the insurgency”, reports Sune Engel Rasmussen, quoting the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan.
Sayed Sarwar Amani and Andrew Mac Askill writing for World Newsopine, “The United States has spent around $65 billion preparing fledgling Afghan security forces, intended to number about 350,000 personnel, for when it leaves.
In 2015, the Afghan Army had to replace about a third of its roughly 170,000 soldiers because of desertions, casualties and low re-enlistment rates, according to figures released by the US military last month. That means a third of the army consists of first year recruits fresh off a three month training course.
US. General John Campbell, commander4 of US forces in Afghanistan, told Congress in October high attrition rates are because of poor leadership and soldiers’ rarely getting holiday. In some areas, soldiers “have probably been in a consistent fight for three years” he said.
The turnover rate is one of the most serious problems faced by Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), according to Michael Kugelman, a senior associate for South and Southeast Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “These high turnover issues increase the possibility that when US led forces leave Afghanistan for good, whenever that is they will be leaving Afghan forces unable to fend off a still ferocious insurgency”, he said, concluding, “the very poor state of the ANA and ANSF is obvious and unless there is a drastic change in strategy they would be in no position to ward off the Taliban threat even with the US air support”.
Afghans of all ethnicity – Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, etc.– are renowned warriors historically acknowledged for their bravery and tenacity in the battlefield. Have the American scholars wondered why their Afghans equipped with modern weaponry with the massive US airpower at their beck and call are fairing so poorly against the other ragtag Afghans equipped with World War-II vintage weaponry?
The simple answer is the very poor top leadership in ANA and ANSF.
The magnitude of corruption at the highest levels of ANA and ANSF is unprecedented. Their top brass enrich themselves at the cost of the combat troops who are ill equipped and ill trained to confront a resilient enemy. The higher echelon ANA / ANSF commanders are rarely seen in the forefront leading their charges; instead they prefer to manage the fighting from the safety of their hideouts and bunkers.
The Taliban leadership on the other hand, true to the Afghan and universal war fighting traditions actively live and fight along with their rank and file.
The Taliban top and mid-level leadership draw their inspiration from the concept of Jihad against the foreign “infidels”. The irony is that while the Taliban demand the ouster of all foreign forces from Afghanistan in public, in private they reportedly agree their presence gives them the leverage to recruit and motivated Afghans to join their league and confront the enemy despite heavy odds. If the foreign legions are to leave, the principal Taliban recruitment and motivational tool of a holy Jihad would no longer be applicable. The struggle would then be viewed as a civil war for power grab where Muslims would be butchering fellow Muslims, with both sides claiming to hold and unfurl the Islamic banner.
A final word would be in order about the US legislators who repeatedly berate Pakistan, holding it responsible for the Afghanistan debacle – some under the influence of the strong Indian lobby and others on the basis of the oft repeated assumption that Pakistan and the Pakistan Army has full control of the Taliban. Nothing could be further from the truth.
That Pakistan and its premier intelligence agency the much feared ISI have channels of communication with the top Taliban leadership is true but all other players in the region including the Afghan government and USA have similar openings. If Pakistan had exercised the degree of control over the Taliban as the legislators suggest, why was it not able to resolve the Durand Line issue when the Taliban were in power?
Pakistan’s repeated requests to the Taliban government in the 1990s to hand over the sectarian militants and terrorists who had taken refuge in Afghanistan were bluntly rejected. Post 2009 Operation Rah e Rast, Fazlullah, the notorious head of the TTP faction has taken refuge in Afghanistan eastern province that are under control of the Afghan Taliban. If Pakistan had held sway over them, could Fazlullah and his militia have survived in a region where the Taliban rule the roost?
The truth is the Afghan Taliban are fiercely independent and they do what they consider are in their interest. “You can rent an Afghan but you cannot buy him” is a truism that is clearly manifested in the Pakistan – Taliban relationship. Pakistan does not control the Taliban and its influence is at best limited. Pakistan can urge the Taliban to come to the negotiating table but the final decision rests solely with the latter.
Basing conclusions on the sweeping assumption that Pakistan has total control over the Taliban is faulty; such absurd suppositions are the bread and butter of conspiracy theorists – very inappropriate in any reasonable discourse. One expects a more rational approach by the respected member of the US Congress and the Senate.
There are other major players interfering in Afghanistan who can muddy the water for the US and its allies in Afghanistan. The top US General in Europe has reportedly said that he had seen Russian influence on Afghan Taliban insurgents growing, and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the militants, whose reach is expanding in southern Afghanistan (Reuters).
The Indian media has reported thirteen Indians who had joined the militants were among those obliterated by the US MOAB attack in Afghanistan. How did the thirteen manage to smuggle themselves into Afghanistan? The land routes through Pakistan or the sea / land routes via Iran are both very difficult and hazardous, given the current level of tension in the region. If they went by air, how did they manage to escape the very stringent visa and departure rules?
The million dollar question is how come the Indian media found out about the thirteen Indian casualties within a few days of the bombing? As Brig. (Retde) Shaukat Qadir succinctly observes – unless they were flown under the Indian diplomatic cover for some nefarious activity (Daily Times April 30, 2017).
Andrew Korybko a Russian political analyst and journalist in his incisive article RAW + DAESH = JUNDALLAH 2.0 argues that RAW, the Indian equivalent of Israeli Mossad is actively engaged with Daesh (ISIS) in an effort to ruin Iran – Pakistan relationship and sabotage CPEC. He goes on to postulate “For reasons best understood through the prism of Modi-Doval’s ‘zero –sum’ mentality vis-à-vis Pakistan and China as well as India’s related military strategic partnership with the US, CPEC must be stopped at all costs, and the destabilization of the project’s terminal point of Pakistani Balochistan is accordingly seen as the ‘solution’.
He goes on to elaborate, “Iran is being manipulated by India if it truly believes that Pakistan is to blame for the recent terrorist attack against its border forces in Balochistan, and any counterproductive anti-Islamabad statements or actions undertaken by Tehran are playing right into New Delhi’s hands ( and by extent, India’s newfound American and “Israeli” allies too). “He concludes by advising Iran “urgently needs to read up on Chanakya and study his writings before rashly responding to any more forthcoming terrorist incidents which it’s being manipulated to blame on Pakistan, as failure to do so could contribute to Iran being exploited as a unipolar ‘cat’s paw’ for complicating the emergence of the Multipolar World Order which it’s already sacrificed so much to build”.
Pakistan is too minor a player to be held responsible for sabotaging the US Afghan policy. It is time USA reassesses of what actually has gone wrong in their Afghan policy.
Only through an honest assessment and diagnosis of the afflictions that ail US Afg-Pak policy, effective remedial measures to rescue the sinking US ship in Afghanistan can be implemented.
Beijing 26 Sept. 2017 (Xinhua)
Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech delivered Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the 86th Interpol General Assembly has been applauded by many overseas experts and scholars.
Speaking at the general assembly in Beijing, Xi said that China hopes to work closely with countries and international organizations on global security, and jointly build universal security for humankind.
In order to beef up global law enforcement and security cooperation, Xi proposed the need to enhance reform and innovation, uphold the rule of law and seek mutual benefits. The Chinese president also vowed stronger support for Interpol in the next five years to raise its global influence and leadership.
China's proposals of enhancing global law enforcement and security cooperation, as well as its support for Interpol has been applauded by the international community, Russian political expert Grigory Trofimchuk told Xinhua.
China has for long actively participated in global counter-terrorism operations and is committed to strengthening law enforcement cooperation with other countries and the international security, the expert noted.
He said that China has rich experience in combating terrorism, cyber crime, corruption and organized crime, which can be shared with other countries and organizations.
The expert also said that China has sent abroad more peacekeeping troops than any other country and has put forward plans of training law enforcement personnel in developing countries, which demonstrates China's contribution to persevering international security.
Bambang Suryono, chairman of Asia Innovation Study Center, said that the Chinese President made pragmatic proposals at the opening ceremony on strengthening global law enforcement cooperation while presenting China's solutions.
In order to beef up global law enforcement and security cooperation, Xi proposed enhanced reform and innovation, and sticking to the rule of law and mutual benefits, which reflects the thoughts of the Chinese leadership on building a community of shared future for humankind, the Indonesian scholar said.
Global security governance is facing huge challenges as wide-spread terrorism, extremism, corruption, cyber crime and the drug trade have threatened national security, social stability and economic development across the world, he noted.
As people take advantage of the Internet and have access to more information, it has become more difficult for the international community to tackle international crimes, he said.
He added that countries around the world must continually deepen cooperation and jointly combat such crimes.
Oh Ei Sun, principal adviser of Pacific Research Center based in Malaysia, said that innovation is perhaps the most important among China's proposals.
He told Xinhua that crime and terrorism today are growing because of the Internet and social networks instead of via conventional manners; therefore, security forces must be innovative in their approach.
The expert also said that law enforcement institutions around the world need to consider what new steps should be taken to prevent crime and how to use the Internet to combat it.
Sun said many people see Interpol as an organization mainly responsible for investigating cases, when actually it mainly exchanges information and trains the security forces of various countries, he said.
Under such circumstances, China's enhanced training programs for law enforcement staff in developing countries are welcomed, said the expert.
26 Sept 2017 (AlJazeera News)
Iraq's army has paired with Turkish forces to conduct joint military drills on the two nations' shared border, military officials said.
Iraqi soldiers arrived in Turkey late on Monday in the face of exercises due to be carried out on Tuesday in Habur, near Turkey's southeastern border with Iraq, a Turkish military statement said.
The joint drills come after Iraqi Kurds held a referendum on independence in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on Monday, in defiance of the Turkish and Iraqi government.
Tuesday's drills will conclude Turkey's military exercises in its southeastern region, which began on September 18, a week before Monday's vote.
The ballot on independence, organised by Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is expected to return a majority "yes" vote when results are announced, which is expected to be within 72 hours.
Masoud Barzani, president of the KRG, said he would seek talks with Baghdad on how to implement the outcome of the poll.
"If we have a constructive dialogue, then we can give it even more time, in order to secure better relations between the Kurds and Baghdad," he said on September 24.
Iraq, however, opposes the non-binding vote on the grounds that it contravenes the country's constitution.
Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's prime minister, told reporters on Monday the government would not hold talks with the KRG following the referendum.
"We are not ready to discuss or have a dialogue about the results of the referendum because it is unconstitutional," he said.
Turkey, which is home to an estimated 14 million Kurds, has also opposed the vote.
Ankara is concerned the referendum could encourage Turkey's own Kurdish minority population to seek autonomy.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, said in a speech on Monday that Ankara will close the Habur border crossing with northern Iraq following the plebiscite, and threatened to block Kurdish authorities from exporting oil to Turkey.
"After this, let's see through which channels the northern Iraqi regional government will send its oil, or where it will sell it," he said. "We have the tap. The moment we close the tap, then it's done."
Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day flow through pipelines in northern Iraq's Kurdish-controlled territory into Turkey.
Riyadh 26 Sept. 2017 (1100 PM) (State Press Agency/BBC)
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has issued a decree allowing women to drive for the first time, state news agency (SPA) reported this evening.
The royal decree ordered the formation of a ministerial body to give advice within 30 days and then implement the order by 10th of Shawal 1439 H. / June 2018, according to SPA.
Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world to forbid women from driving.
Rights groups have campaigned for years to allow women in the ultraconservative kingdom to drive, and some women have been imprisoned for defying the rule.
"The royal decree will implement the provisions of traffic regulations, including the issuance of driving licences for men and women alike," the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
The move was welcomed by the US state department which called it "a great step in the right direction".
The decree said that the move should "apply and adhere to the necessary Sharia standards", but did not give details.
The SPA report said a majority of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars had backed the idea.
Erbil 25 Sept 2017 (AlJazeera News)
People in Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan are voting in an independence referendum, amid rising tensions and international opposition.
Polls opened at 05:00 GMT with balloting also taking place in the disputed areas between the northern city of Erbil and the capital Baghdad, as well as the oil-rich province of Kirkuk, which is ethnically mixed.
The central government in Baghdad, which strongly opposes the referendum, sought control of the region's international border posts and airports on Sunday, in anticipation of Monday's vote.
Iraq's government has also called on foreign countries to stop importing oil from the Kurdish region and to deal with them instead.
In a televised address on Sunday, Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned of the dire consequences of the vote and vowed to never accept the disintegration of Iraq.
"This is an unconstitutional decision against the social fabric of our citizens. We will not recognise the referendum, nor its results," Abadi said.
"We will take follow-up steps to protect the unity of the country and the interests of every citizen living in a unified Iraq."
Meanwhile, the President of Iraq's Kurdish regional government, Masoud Barzani, has defended the decision to hold the referendum.
"Is it a crime to ask people in Kurdistan to express in a democratic way what they want to have for the future?" he asked in a speech on Sunday.
The Kurdish leader also said he would seek talks with Iraq's central government on how to implement the outcome of the vote.
"If we have a constructive dialogue, then we can give it even more time, in order to secure better relations between the Kurds and Baghdad," he said.
About 2,065 polling stations are open for 10 hours. A total of 5.6 million people are eligible to vote in Kurdistan and other Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Iraq, according to the election commission.
Voters will be asked: "Do you want the Kurdistan region and Kurdish areas outside the region to become an independent state?"
Official results are expected by Tuesday.
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from the Kurdish capital of Erbil, said despite the "tug of war" between the politicians, there is "an upbeat atmosphere".
"The Kurds say that this is their time to express their opinion and to take their future into their own hands," she said.
Opposition to vote
The Kurds are likely to approve the referendum, but the non-binding vote is not expected to result in any formal declaration of independence.
The referendum has raised alarm in Iraq's neighbours - Turkey, Iran and Syria - over concerns it could encourage their own Kurdish minorities to break away.
Turkey is home to the largest Kurdish population at an estimated 14 million.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Ankara would close the Habur border crossing with northern Iraq over the plebiscite and also threatened the Iraqi Kurds with blocking their key oil exports.
"After this, let's see through which channels the northern Iraqi regional government will send its oil, or where it will sell it," Erdogan said in a speech at a forum in Istanbul.
"We have the tap. The moment we close the tap, then it's done."
Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day flow through the pipeline in Turkey from the northern Iraq region.
Meanwhile, Iran closed its border with northern Iraq's Kurdish region on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said.
"At the request of Iraq, we have closed the airspace and ground borders with the Kurdish Regional Government," ministry spokesman Behram Qasimi said at a news conference in Tehran.
A day earlier, Iran halted flights to airports in Iraqi Kurdistan at the request of the central government in Baghdad, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Feisal al-Istrabadi, former Iraqi ambassador to the UN, said the Kurdish government risks throwing the region into turmoil for no clear gain.
"For the Turks and the Iranians, but particulary for Turkey, this [referendum] is an existential threat," he told Al Jazeera, speaking from Bloomington, Indiana. "How Turkey will deal with an independently Iraqi Kurdistan, but deny their own Kurds independence is a problem requiring Solomonic wisdom."
The United States and the United Nations have also condemned the referendum.
The UN has warned of the vote's "potentially destabilising effect," while the US has said it could fuel regional unrest and distract attention from ongoing campaigns to rout the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in Iraq and Syria.
Doha, Qatar 24 Sept 2017 (AlJazeera News/Media)
Thousands of people gathered this evening in central Doha to welcome back the Emir of Qatar following his trips in Europe and the UN General Assembly, in a show of unity in the wake of a nearly four-month diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani returned to the Qatari capital on Sunday after concluding his first foreign trip since the major crisis erupted on June 5 when a Saudi-led group of Arab countries cut ties with Qatar and imposed a land, sea and air blockade on it.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt accuse Qatar of supporting "terrorism", an allegation Doha strongly denies.
Qatar residents and members of the multinational community waved flags and banners as the Emir’s entourage passed through the Corniche.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AlThani surprised everyone by stepping out of his vehicle many times to interact with the people, some of whom had camped since the afternoon just to catch a glimpse of him.
Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra said that thousands of Qataris and members of the expatriate community had amassed in Doha's waterfront, known as Corniche, to greet the emir as his motorcade passed by.
"This is a very important moment for the people of Qatar," Ahelbarra, reporting from Corniche, said.
"For them this is a show of unity and also a message to the international community that despite the fact that a blockade was imposed on the country, they continue to fight for what they consider to be a legitimate right to defend the sovereignty of Qatar."
The show of unity was also aimed at refuting rumours from other Gulf media outlets that Qataris are looking for a change of leadership.
"This display of passion and patriotic fervour among the Qataris is really quite unprecedented," Ahelbarra said.
Sultan Barakat, director of Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute, said it felt "as if half of Doha" was on the street.
"I've never seen anything like it in terms of traffic," he told Al Jazeera.
"Publicly, seeing the images today will push them [the blockading countries] to think twice about this particular issue," he added.
"It's been about 110 days or so and there hasn't been any feeling of split in the society and it seems to me that everyone is very much united behind the emir."
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Sheikh Tamim said that the countries imposing an "unjust blockade" on Qatar are seeking to destabilise a sovereign state.
"I stand before you while my country and my people are subjected to an ongoing and unjust blockade imposed since June 5 by neighbouring countries," he said, asking if this was not the definition of "terrorism".
Earlier, the emir had met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, where he said he is ready to sit at a negotiating table to solve the regional crisis.
Sheikh Tamim also held discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron, who called on the blockading countries to lift the embargo on Qatar "as soon as possible".
21 Sept 2017 UN News Centre
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly today, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the Prime Minister of Pakistan underscored that any strategy to combat global terrorism must focus on addressing the issue of State sponsored terrorism, as well as resolve the root causes behind such violence.
“[Root causes] are not only poverty and ignorance, terrorism is even more an extreme response to real or perceived political and other grievances, including foreign intervention, oppression and injustice,” the Pakistani leader told world leaders.
“Unless such root causes are addressed, it will be difficult to counter the twisted narrative of terrorist groups,” he added.
In his address, Prime Minister Abbasi also drew attention to climate change as the new and existential threat to humankind’s future with its consequences felt around the world – from the United States to Nepal – and called on global leaders to collectively rally behind the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
He also noted the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for all of humanity and said that initiatives such as China’s ‘Belt and Road’ offered a clear path to prosperity as well as a model of South-South cooperation “worthy of emulation.”
Also in his address, he urged an international investigation mechanism be sent to Kashmir “to verify the nature and extent of India’s human rights violations,” identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable.
Further, urging for a just, peaceful and expeditious resolution of the dispute over Kashmir, Prime Minister Abbasi called on the Security Council secure the implementation of its own resolution on the region.
“To this end, the UN Secretary-General should appoint a Special Envoy on Kashmir [whose] mandate should flow from the longstanding but unimplemented resolutions of the Security Council.”
(Radio Pakistan)
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi address to 72nd Session of General Assembly, United Nations
Mr. President,
Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me first congratulate Mr. Miroslav Lajcak on his election as the President of the 72nd session of the General Assembly. I am confident that his long experience in public service and international relations will be an asset in successfully guiding this august Assembly to address the imposing challenges of security, development and governance that confront the world today.
Mr. President,
For over 70 years – despite the Cold War, the nuclear arms race and scores of regional conflicts – our world was able to avoid a global conflagration. This can be ascribed in large measure to the adherence by most States to the prohibition of the use or threat of use of force except under the authority of the UN Charter.
Unfortunately, the principles of the UN Charter have been progressively eroded in the new millennium. In recent years some countries have displayed a growing proclivity to resort to unilateral force and intervention against other States. Coercion and threats have emerged again as the main currency in the management of inter-state disputes and differences.
Renewed East-West tensions may engulf Europe in another Cold War. Peace and prosperity in Asia is threatened by emerging big power friction and rising tensions in South, East and West Asia.
The Middle East is wracked by war and violence – in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere. Although Daesh appears to have been weakened in Iraq and Syria, terrorist violence has spread and intensified across the Middle East and Africa and other parts of the world.
There is no end in sight to the tragedy of Palestine. Israel’s prolonged occupation and expansion of illegal settlements may lead to renewed and wider violence in the Holy Land.
The legitimate struggle for self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir continues to be brutally suppressed by India’s occupation forces.
Rising racism and religious hatred – manifested in xenophobia and Islamophobia – is erecting physical walls and psychological barriers between nations and peoples even as our world becomes increasingly interdependent.
The ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas is not just an affront to all norms of humanity but also challenges our collective conscience.
While the pillars of world order are being eroded, the imperative of international cooperation – to address poverty, disease, climate change, nuclear proliferation, terrorism and forced displacement – is intensifying.
Today, more than ever, we need the United Nations to provide the parameters, processes and platforms for global cooperation that is essential to address the wide ranging challenges to peace, security, and development.
Pakistan welcomes the efforts launched by Secretary General Antonio Guterres to revitalize the United Nations’ capabilities in Peace and Security, Development and Management.
We are also committed to reform that transforms the Security Council into a more representative, democratic and accountable body rather than an expanded club of the powerful and the privileged.
Mr. President,
Pakistan celebrated the 70th anniversary of its independence last month. This month marks the 70th anniversary of Pakistan’s membership of the United Nations.
Pakistan’s commitment to the principles of the United Nations is evident from the long record of its constructive role in the initiatives and contributions that have shaped the decisions and discourse at this world body on decolonization, development, trade, international law, human rights, refugees, peacekeeping, security, disarmament and the United Nations’ budget and management.
Pakistan has consistently been one of the world’s top troop contributors to UN peacekeeping. We will remain on the frontlines of peacekeeping and continue to offer professional and well-trained personnel to the United Nations, despite our own security challenges.
Mr. President,
Our adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter flows from the declaration of our Founding Father, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who said: “Our foreign policy is one of friendliness and goodwill towards all nations of the world”.
Unfortunately, from day one of its creation, Pakistan has faced unremitting hostility from its eastern neighbor. India refuses to implement the unanimous resolutions of the UN Security Council, which mandate a UN supervised plebiscite to enable the people of Jammu and Kashmir to freely decide their destiny.
Instead India has deployed nearly 700,000 troops in occupied Kashmir to suppress the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination. This is the most intense foreign military occupation in recent history.
As in the past, today the Kashmiri people are waging a heroic and popular struggle to rid themselves of India’s oppressive rule. They come out in the streets daily to call on India to leave Kashmir.
India has responded with massive and indiscriminate force to suppress the Kashmiris, shooting indiscriminately at children, women and youth. Hundreds of innocent Kashmiris have been killed or injured. Shotgun pellets have blinded and maimed thousands of Kashmiris including children. These and other brutalities clearly constitute war crimes and violate the Geneva Conventions.
Pakistan demands an international investigation into India’s crimes in Kashmir. We ask that the United Nations Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights send an inquiry Commission to occupied Kashmir to verify the nature and extent of India’s human rights violations, secure the punishment of those responsible and provide justice and relief to the victims.
Pakistan also urges the international community to call on India to: halt pellet gun attacks and other violence against unarmed demonstrators; stop the use of rape as an instrument of state policy; end media blackouts; rescind its draconian emergency laws; and free all Kashmiri political leaders.
Mr. President,
To divert the world’s attention from its brutalities; India frequently violates the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir. Despite over 600 violations since January this year Pakistan has acted with restraint. But if India does venture across the LoC, or acts upon its doctrine of “limited” war against Pakistan, it will evoke a strong and matching response.
The international community must act decisively to prevent the situation from a dangerous escalation.
Mr. President,
The Kashmir dispute should be resolved justly, peacefully and expeditiously. As India is unwilling to resume the peace process with Pakistan, we call on the Security Council to fulfill its obligation to secure the implementation of its own resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
To this end, the UN Secretary-General should appoint a Special Envoy on Kashmir. His mandate should flow from the longstanding but unimplemented resolutions of the Security Council.
Mr. President,
Let me reiterate, Pakistan remains open to resuming a comprehensive dialogue with India to address all outstanding issues, especially Kashmir and discuss measures to maintain peace and security. This dialogue must be accompanied by an end to India’s campaign of subversion and state sponsored terrorism against Pakistan, including from across our western border.
Mr. President,
Apart from the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan and its people have suffered the most from four decades of foreign intervention and civil wars in Afghanistan. These wars have
blighted our country with the flow of extremists and terrorists, guns and drugs as well as an influx of millions of refugees. They have set back our economic development by decades. Even today, Pakistan is host to over 3 million Afghan refugees. No one desires peace in Afghanistan more than Pakistan.
From 16 years of the ongoing war in Afghanistan, it is clear that peace will not be restored by the continuing resort to military force. Neither Kabul and the Coalition, nor the Afghan Taliban, can impose a military solution on each other. The international community – as expressed in several United Nations resolutions – has concluded that peace can be restored in Afghanistan only through a negotiated settlement.
Having suffered and sacrificed so much due to our role in the global counter terrorism campaign it is especially galling for Pakistan to be blamed for the military or political stalemate in Afghanistan. We are not prepared to be anyone’s scapegoat. Taliban “safe havens” are located not in Pakistan but in the large tracts of territory controlled by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Yes, cross border attacks do occur. These are mostly conducted by anti-Pakistan terrorists from “safe havens” across the border. To end all cross border attacks we ask the Afghan government and the Coalition to support and complement Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to strengthen border controls and monitor all movement across it.
What Pakistan is not prepared to do is to fight the Afghan war on Pakistan’s soil. Nor can we endorse any failed strategy that will prolong and intensify the suffering of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan and other regional countries.
Pakistan believes that the urgent and realistic goals in Afghanistan should be: One, concerted action to eliminate the presence in Afghanistan of Daesh, Al-Qaeda and their affiliates including the TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which was recently declared a terrorist organization by the Security Council.
Two, promote negotiations between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban – in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) or any trilateral format – to evolve a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan.
These two steps offer the most realistic prospect of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan and our region.
Mr. President,
Pakistan’s counter-terrorism credentials cannot be questioned. After 9/11 it was Pakistani efforts that enabled the decimation of Al-Qaeda. Pakistan’s military campaigns have succeeded in clearing our tribal areas of almost all militant groups.
We took the war to the terrorists. We have paid a heavy price. Over 27,000 Pakistanis including 6,500 military and law enforcement personnel have been martyred by terrorists. 50,000 Pakistani nationals have been injured, including 15,000 army personnel, many of whom have lost their limbs.
Mr. President,
We have fought the war against terror with our own resources. Pakistan’s economic losses are estimated at over $120 billion. Yet, we remain committed to fully implementing our National Action Plan against terrorism and extremism. Defeating terrorist violence is vital to realize our overriding priority of rapid economic and social development.
Mr. President,
Terrorism is now a global phenomenon, which must be addressed comprehensively. We see two major gaps in the global counter-terrorism strategy. First, the international community has failed to address the issue of state sponsored terrorism. This is an instrument of choice of the agents of chaos and aspiring hegemons. In several regions, stability will be difficult to restore unless State sponsored terrorism is condemned, prohibited and punished.
Second, to eliminate terrorism, its root causes must be addressed. These are not only poverty and ignorance; terrorism is even more an extreme response to real or perceived political and other grievances, including foreign intervention, oppression and injustice. Unless such root causes are addressed, it will be difficult to counter the twisted narrative of terrorist groups.
Mr. President,
Confronted by a hostile and increasingly militarized neighbor, Pakistan has been obliged to maintain the capability for credible deterrence. My country developed nuclear weapons only when these were introduced in our region by this neighbor. Our strategic assets are vital to deter oft-threatened aggression. They are tightly and effectively controlled, as has been widely acknowledged by experts. The world community would be well served by enabling Pakistan to join global non-proliferation arrangements, such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group on a non-discriminatory basis.
Mr. President,
Climate change poses a new and existential threat to mankind’s future. Extreme climate events are multiplying: Their consequences – flooding in Texas, landslides in Nepal and Sierra Leone, devastation in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico, disappearing Himalayan glaciers – are global and indiscriminate. As one of the most vulnerable states to climate change, we believe that it is in our collective interest to pursue and realize the goals of the Paris Agreement and build a new and greener model for growth and development.
Mr. President,
Growth and development remain the primary objectives of the developing countries. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals represent the most ambitious development agenda in history. The development challenge has become more imposing due to the combined constraints of climate change, rising protectionism, fraying international cooperation and proliferation conflicts.
The vision of shared growth – spelt out in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative – offers a solid path to prosperity and a model of South-South cooperation worthy of emulation.
Mr. President,
Pakistan’s economy has recorded a remarkable revival in the past four years. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will further contribute to our economic upsurge. This will expand exponentially as the Pakistan-China partnership extends beyond energy and transportation to many other sectors.
Pakistan’s integration into the Eurasian Belt and Road network will provide a firm foundation for Pakistan’s rapid economic development. With a youthful population of 207 million people, we are confident that an economic strategy anchored on rising incomes, consumption and production will propel Pakistan towards greater prosperity.
To achieve these priority goals for our people, Pakistan seeks to build peace within our country and security around our borders. We seek good relations with all States on the basis of sovereign equality. We will respond positively to all offers of friendship and cooperation.
Mr. President,
We are poised at a critical inflection point in history. The world order that has prevented a global war for over 70 years is under threat. Yet, revolutionary advances in science and technology, the immense capacity for global investment, production, consumption and trade, especially in the developing countries, and the availability of structures and mechanisms for collective action offer an opportunity, unprecedented in human history, to address the diverse challenges that we face today. It is here, through the United Nations, that the peoples of the world can seize the opportunities to achieve our shared vision of a more just, peaceful and prosperous world.
I thank you, Mr. President!
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