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REMARKS BY
PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
AT THE GENERAL DEBATE SESSION OF THE 62ND UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Mr. President, Let me begin by stating how much I welcome and support the theme of this year's 62nd General Assembly, which is "Responding to Climate Change". I stand before you here representing the good people of Indonesia who are very eager to welcome you to the Bali conference in December this year. When you do come to our country, you will see a great nation whose multi-ethnic and multi-religious population live in harmony with one another, and in harmony with mother earth, the way they have been for thousands of years. Indonesia is a country that has felt and suffered the effects of climate change. In recent years, we have been hit by a series of natural disasters in the form of floods, drought, forest fires, El Nino, tsunami and earthquakes. The issue of climate change has made us see inter-dependence in a completely new tight. When it comes to global warming, we are much more interdependent than we thought, all in terms of the causes, symptoms and solutions. We must uphold the principle of "common and differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities." But there is always room for every country, every community, and every individual to be more flexible, more innovative and more inclusive. A persistent theme in our discussions on climate change yesterday is the need for urgency, which means, the need for action, and the need to think outside the box. I count myself as an optimist who see today a larger window of opportunity to strike a global consensus to tackle global warming. We will have that chance in Bali. The Bali Conference must yield a new roadmap on climate change. And that new roadmap must spell out what must be done by both the developed and developing world to save humankind and its planet from the looming tragedy of climate change. It must link the solution to the problem of climate change with sustainable development-the conquest of poverty. It must produce an outcome and timeline that wilt be more comprehensive and more ambitious in achieving its practical objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We developing countries must protect our natural resources while using them wisely for development. Among the most valuable of our natural resources are our forests: from them we extract economic wealth. Through them, we store an immense volume of carbon that would otherwise pollute the atmosphere. On that basis, yesterday Indonesia took the initiative of launching a Special Leaders' Meeting of Tropical Rainforest Countries. In that meeting, we the leaders of the countries having custody of a great portion of the world's rainforests decided to intensify our cooperation in forest conservation and reforestation. We also believe that countries that seek to enhance their carbon sinks- through forestation, afforestation, avoided deforestation--should be given incentive and rewarded fairly for doing so. And throughout our deliberations on climate change, let us always keep an eye on the requirements of development. That means we must not lose sight of the imperative to conquer poverty as a basic problem of the human condition. In Indonesia, we have a national dream, which is expressed in our 1945 Constitution. We dream of enjoying for ourselves and our future generations the blessings of peace, freedom, justice and prosperity- and seeing to it that the same blessings are enjoyed by the rest of humankind. Poverty can kill that dream. That is why the new Indonesia of today is fully dedicated to the fight against poverty. For that purpose, our national economic policy is focused on the development of the rural areas where the vast majority of our people live-and where they wage a daily struggle against the ravages of poverty. That is why we are so intent on making the national business climate friendly and attractive to foreign direct investments: so that jobs will be created for our millions of unemployed. That is why we are so intent on eradicating our society of the tant of corruption. And that is why our foreign policy is seized with the need for a truly functioning global partnership for development-because it is only such a partnership that can ultimately conquer the basic problem of poverty. Mr. President, Peace in the Middle East is crucial to long-term
global stability. But there can be no peace in the Middle East unless
there is justice-especially justice for the Palestinian people. And
a divided Palestinian nation cannot secure justice. Hamas and Fatah
must therefore engage in dialogue and reconcile their agendas. The
Arab Initiative must catalyze political change in the region. And that, I believe, is what humankind needs most today: the involvement of every one. There must be a global partnership at work: developed and developing countries together must work with a deeper sense of partnership, and a more profound sense of urgency. Thus, to solve the problem of climate change, the
Bali Conference must set the stage for a genuine partnership between
developed and developing countries and all other stakeholders. And while the developing countries are in hot pursuit of their Millennium Development Goals, the developed world can greatly help ensure the success of the Doha Development Round. The developed countries must ensure sufficient flows
of financing for development through foreign direct investments and
official development assistance. They must facilitate transfer of
technology for development. No partnership works without teamwork, and no teamwork is possible without constant effective communication. This means dialogue. After all, dialogue is the best way to exercise soft power. Dialogue and soft power can greatly advance the cause of disarmament and non-proliferation. Dialogue and soft power have helped resolve various intrastate conflicts, including in Aceh where 2 years ago we reached a peaceful political settlement which permanently ended the conflict. Dialogue and soft power can also be a major instrument in addressing the root causes of terrorism. That is why I am a firm advocate of dialogue among faiths, cultures and civilizations. And I urge that the dialogue in the Alliance of Civilizations be fully integrated into the work of the United Nations. Sincere dialogue can lead to the formation of an effective global partnership on climate change, which is also a partnership for sustainable development. I look forward to such a dialogue taking place at the Bali Conference this coming December. That will be one vitally important dialogue. For it can start a chain of events that will lead to the fulfillment of the dream of billions for a safer, better life. And it will certainly add sheen to the national dream of Indonesia- for a better world of peace, social justice and equitably shared prosperity. I thank you.
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