Speech by Dr. Mohammad Sabah AlSalem AlSabah, at the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) breakfast meeting
September 20, 2011 - New York
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning to all of you. It is indeed a pleasure for me to welcome you in this important meeting, which precedes our upcoming Ministerial Meeting in Kuwait next month.
At the outset, I wish to extend my thanks and gratitude to H.E. the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, brother Ali Akbar Salehi, for the efforts that his country has exerted during its chairmanship of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue last year.
I also would like to thank H.E. the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul on the efforts that his country has exerted in its capacity as Coordinator of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue to make its meetings successful.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The State of Kuwait assumes the Chairmanship of ACD, as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of this important Asian Forum. There is no doubt that the cooperation that was extended by our countries in the various fields to deepen the relations between them, shall be beneficial to our peoples, which compose 70% of the world’s population.
There are many significant challenges that we have to face together in numerous fields, in particular the financial tsunami that swept the globe, its impact on our countries and economies. A fact that requires close cooperation between our countries to wither this global storm.
After ten years of our regular meetings, we still need to put into action the proposals and ideas that were put forward during the past period, and must move to the phase of implementation in many spheres.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The joint efforts of our countries, as well as the meetings of experts in various fields, contribute greatly in facilitating much of our work, and is beneficial to our peoples and countries.
The natural disasters that have struck many Asian nations make it incumbent upon us to closely cooperate in order to alleviate the severity of these disasters. Cooperation in matters such as the environment, the proper use of technologies, the interconnection between our youth, the conclusion of agreements in the fields of trade, investment, and the free flow of goods between our countries, will definitely improve our economies and increase its current 40% share of the of the world’s GDP.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The State of Kuwait is very pleased to host the upcoming ministerial meeting of member states of the ACD, on the 10th and 11th of October. We will be very pleased to receive their excellencies, the Foreign Ministers as our guests in Kuwait to celebrate together the 10th Anniversary marking the initiation of the meetings of ACD countries.
Once again I welcome you and thank you for attending; I wish you all a joyful stay in New York and a safe return to your countries.