Doha / Information Office / April 28
The State of Qatar will host after tomorrow Tuesday the 16th ministerial meeting of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD). The meeting will be three days long.
HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani expressed the pride of the State of Qatar at chairing the 2019 dialogue, during the ministerial meeting of member countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York.
His Excellency said on Twitter that the country's priority during its presidency will be to reach an Asian consensus, enhance cooperation, develop mechanisms for joint work, and strengthen economic and commerce ties. His Excellency added that they are certain that enhancing understanding and economic integration in all fields will help advance joint work to higher levels.
HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign affairs said that the State of Qatar encourages the deepening of trade and economic partnerships and enhancing the economic competitiveness of Asian countries in global markets, particularly as the Asian continent has all the capabilities required to push the development of human resources and economic wealth. His Excellency also noted that all these factors will help make economic integration a success, especially that the continent's economies are witnessing rapid growth.
The Asian Cooperation Dialogue was established in 2001 and has 34 member countries. Its first meeting was held in Thailand in 2002 with the participation of 18 Asian founding countries.
In 2006, Qatar hosted the fifth meeting. The Doha Declaration included a number of decisions, such as the establishment of an Energy Forum for energy cooperation under the framework of the ACD, the need for Asia to make productive use of its core savings, including financial returns from the energy trade to benefit of the region, and the need for the successful implementation of the e-University project as a tool for building human capacity, closing the digital divide and increasing access to higher education.
The main objectives of the ACD are to promote interdependence among Asian countries in all areas of cooperation by identifying Asia's common strengths and opportunities which will help reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for Asian people whilst developing a knowledge-based society within Asia and enhancing community and people empowerment, expand the trade and financial market within Asia and increase the bargaining power of Asian countries in lieu of competition and, in turn, enhance Asia's economic competitiveness in the global market, serve as the missing link in Asian cooperation by building upon Asia's potentials and strengths through supplementing and complementing existing cooperative frameworks so as to become a viable partner for other regions,
Ultimately transform the Asian continent into an Asian Community, capable of interacting with the rest of the world on a more equal footing and contributing more positively towards mutual peace and prosperity.
The core elements of the ACD 2030 vision are promoting ACDs core principles and values, and spirit of Pan-Asian partnership, as well as establish our aspirations for Asia as a region of peace, progress and shared prosperity, underpinned by inclusive, balanced, people-centered and sustainable development. Another element is strengthening ACDs economic competitiveness and resilience, as well as deepen trade and production linkages within ACD and with other regions, through viable economic integration and investment in connectivity infrastructure and technologies. A third element is deepening collective efforts to reduce economic and social disparities while ensuring inclusive growth and sustainable development, both within and across ACD member states, in order to build a more equitable society in Asia, as well as to promote the sharing of knowledge, experiences and technology to support capacity building and human resource development in the ACD region.