KUWAIT CITY, Oct 10, (KUNA): The scheduled 10th Asia Cooperation Dialogue got underway in Kuwait on Monday under sponsorship of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who urged the Asian nations to join hands to cope with the negative ripples of the global financial crisis and called for greater inter-Asian cooperation against terrorism.

Economy is one of the fundamental pillars of any country, a financial crisis in any country will naturally affect other countries. The current international financial crisis still casts its shadows on our countries, and “this necessitates us to work together to achieve stability in our continent through cooperation, exchange of information and coordination,” said the Amir.

“God blessed our continent with human resources, which is the main element for development and prosperity, in addition to a vast range of natural resources and advanced levels of technology. If such blend is ideally used, along with the enhancement of means of transportation on land, air and maritime, it shall place our continent ahead of others, and strengthen its economy and prosperity,” HH the Amir stated.
Kuwait has set a number of economic plans aimed at transferring it into a regional financial and commercial hub, benefiting from its location, its advanced financial and human capabilities, and its good relations with various countries, he said.

Kuwait is keen for Asia to become one of the main pivots in building and developing such a financial and commercial hub, the Amir added.

The Amir urged the attending leaders of the Asian nations to cooperate in the combat against terrorism, through education, expertise exchange and backing the world community in this respect. He said in part, “Our continent has suffered from a lot from the destructive effects of wars. Thus, we should adopt a wise approach in handling differences, and to resort to dialogue and peaceful solutions, out of our belief in the charter of the United Nations, the principles of international law, and out of respect of agreements and treaties between countries.

“The spread of terrorism is affecting the stability of nations and the security of their peoples, and this requires further cooperation in fighting terrorism through enlightenment, exchange of information and experiences, and supporting the international efforts.”The Amir called for holding a summit at this level in 2012 “in order to discuss various issues of interest to the Asian continent,” expressing his readiness to hold such a top-level meeting in Kuwait.

The Amir expressed sorrow on the natural disasters that hit a number of “our countries this year resulting in deaths and causalities. We have to further cooperate for eliminating their consequences. We also call for enhancing the capacities of the United Nations for confronting natural disasters.” The world also suffers environmental and climatic problems that affect its resources and hinders development therein, particularly in Asia. Cooperation is thus required for eliminating their negative consequences via the use of advanced technology, cooperation and joining regional and international treaties to protect the environment, Sheikh Sabah said.

“Our continuous meetings shall no doubt reflect positively upon our peoples, and lead to the achievement of the anticipations and hopes of our countries toward development and prosperity,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister of stressed that “economic security” should top strategies of the Asian nations.

Speaking at the inaugural session, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah,  said that Asian nations should seek to rise to the challenges and address issues of common interest. The extraordinary events happening in our nations warrant efforts that match the volume of these challenges, Sheikh Mohammad said, stressing that conferees should seek practical plans to meet aspirations of the Asian peoples.

“Economic security” should top the development strategies of the Asian nation, he said, adding that the forum will be an opportunity for these countries for exchanging dialogue, perspectives, experiences and notions for realising the common goals of the Asian countries.

Sheikh Mohammad indicated that Tajikstan would chair the next forum, and expressed hope that the conferees, through their agenda, would find means for ensuring prosperity for the Asian nation.