Mr. President,

At the outset, the Indonesian Delegation would like to express its appreciation to you and the members of the Council for convening this meeting at a critical Juncture in the African continent. Our deliberations today are reflective of the utmost importance that the international community accords to the issues concerning Africa, particularly those relating security and economic and social development.

It provides a unique opportunity to take stock of the significant achievements and progress made by the African people over the last few years and concurrently, focusing attention on the need for enhanced international cooperation for the establishment of a partnership on the continent with the rest of the world based on mutual benefit and prosperity.

Before proceeding further, I should like to express our sincere gratitude to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report entitled "The causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa" which contains recommendations and proposals "to reduce conflict and in time to build a strong and durable peace" which is expected to generate action from the international community to establish peace and prosperity in Africa. Equally important is that it envisions intensified cooperation and closer coordination between the United Nations and regional organizations in Africa, thus providing greater momentum towards the realization of stability as well as sustainable development for Africa and its people.

During the past few years, the African continent has undergone profound change and transition. Colonization and apartheid have successfully been relegated to the dark chapter of history. We rejoiced when Namibia achieved its long struggle for independence and apartheid was forever eradicated in South Africa, thereby bolstering our hopes and optimism that a new era was unfolding on the continent.

Today Africa stands at the threshold of the next millennium closer towards attaining ts goal of stable peace and economic prosperity. It is therefore gtatif ing to note I Y from the report of the Secretary-General that "Africa as a whole is beginning to make'significant economic and political progress" and "efforts to break with the past are significant at last are beginning to succeed". Africa as a vast continent with its abundant natural resources and industrious people, holds great and untapped potential for development and a vital force to be reckoned with in the global markets.

For such prosperity to flourish and grow requires a secure environment for peace and security. In this context, my delegation views with concern the conflicts taking place in some parts of Africa that have tom the very fabric of its society, resulting in immense suffering to its people. It is our fervent hope that the long and relentless efforts of the OAU and the United Nations will bring the concerned parties together to settle their disputes in a peaceful and amicable manner through dialogue and negotiations. We therefore commend the efforts of the OAU, which has long been at the helm of all concerted endeavors to resolve conflicts through peaceful means. Over the past three decades, the OAU has continued to be the singular and most indispensable organization to the African nations and their peoples in addressing crisis situations. There is much that the OAU and the United Nations can achieve when both organizations work in concert to remove obstacles endangering the peace and thereby facilitate the peace process. We believe that such a partnership of cooperation can be built within the framework of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter.

In this regard, we fully concur with the Secretary-General's observation that the international community has a crucial role to play in nurturing the on-going peace process by extending assistance for short term stability with various inducements while the parties to the conflict work towards long-term reconciliation and reconstruction of their societies. At the same time, my delegation underscores the importance of the African countries, like all other countries, to be masters of their own destiny in choosing the road map to development which is fully in accord with the sacrosanct principles of respect of sovereignty of nations and strict adherence to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.

Mr. President,

It is clearly evident that to succeed in building frameworks for an enduring peace and stability on the African continent, the international community, must work together with the Affican countries to strengthen the continent's social and economic foundations. Abject poverty, illiteracy and hunger only breed despair and resentment. Only through increased economic development and generalized improvement in standards of living will people gain a vested interest in working towards peaceful resolutions of their differences. It is no longer sufficient for the international community to convene and merely express empathy and support for the African countries, without providing concrete contribution. If indeed there is a genuine desire to prevent the need for emergency humanitarian assistance, or to avoid costly peacekeeping and peacemaking operations; as well as to give meaning to the expressions of concern so often voiced, then comprehensive, concerted and concrete action on economic development cooperation must be taken. Anything less will result in a loss of credibility.

In that connection, the initiative announced by the Secretary-General, in collaboration with the Secretary-General of the OAU, to promote large-scale long-term investment in growth promoting sectors in Africa is a positive and constructive step forward. Clearly, new efforts need to be made to attract foreign direct investment in Africa, which accounted for less than 5% of the overall direct investment in the developing countries in 1996. Those African countries which have, in the framework of their economic reform programmes, worked vigorously to establish a favorable climate for attracting private, domestic and foreign direct investment should receive a positive response and serve as models for replication.

At the same time, steps must be taken by the developed countries to increase market access for African exports through a reduction of trade barriers. As the sustained economic growth of the continent will depend largely on export-led growth, we believe it appropriate for the World Trade Organization to closely monitor the critical situation and to work with all concerned to alleviate all obstacles.

In the near term, the continuing importance of Official Development Assistance, particularly in meeting the resources requirements of the low income countries, needs to be strongly underlined. The global decline in ODA, as the market forces are increasingly left as the determining factor, must be reversed. A constructive global partnership to support the development efforts of the developing countries, particularly those least developed, needs to be re-established. This is in the interests of all members of the international community, not only aid recipient countries. It is no longer acceptable for developing countries to continually call for ODA commitments to be fulfilled, only to be ignored. We must get off that treadmill and all take a serious look at the benefits of development aid and begin to restore the flow of international development assistance.

Concurrently, vigorous efforts must be taken to finally resolve the unsustainable debt burdens of the African countries. It is a travesty for the African countries to continue to pay more than 17% of their total export earnings to donors and commercial lenders, while many struggle to meet the most basic needs of their people. Maintaining the status quo is unacceptable. Indonesia therefore supports the call from the OAU for an international agreement to clear the debt stock of the poorest countries in Africa. This would represent an important step in the effort to revitalize the economic performance of these countries and put them back on the path of growth. Likewise, we see merit in the proposal for creditor countries to convert into grants the remaining official bilateral debt of the poorest African countries, and for financial institutions to significantly ease and quicken access to facilities, as well as to provide sufficient resources for economic growth and social development for the heavily indebted poor nations.

Mr. President,

South-South cooperation holds promise to support the development objectives in Africa, as many developing countries are clearly in a position to render assistance and capacity-building. Such assistance could be elaborated in the areas of trade promotion, strengthening food production and distribution, to name but a few.

This also provides a good opportunity to draw on the experiences of the African countries and to determine where the priority should be given. The countries of the South can ill afford to miss this opportunity to act in solidarity and to contribute to lasting solutions to their cor=on problems.

Mr. President,

In the long and arduous struggle for political freedom, Africa has shown 'lience and courage. So too, in the present time, the spirit of Africa can break great resi the chains of underdevelopment and gain its fightflil place as a peaceftil, harmonious and prosperous continent. But in this era of interdependence and globalization, they can not go it alone. Africa deserves the attention of the international community.

There is therefore an urgent need for action on the part of the United Nations and the international community. In this respect, we commend the report of the Secretary-General which is a step forward in the night direction. Let us, therefore reaffirm our commitment to the African nations to secure lasting peace and security and promote in all earnest, international cooperation in which strong economies can be built anew to sustain the peoples of Africa in a self-reliant and sustainable manner. It is only through our collective efforts can the true destiny of this great continent be successfully fulfilled.

Indonesia, although it is too a developing country with economic problems of its own, nevertheless it is firmly committed to assisting its partners on Africa in achieving their vision of a peaceful and prosperous Africa. Indonesia and the African countries have long enjoyed close and fraternal relations having their roots in the far distant past, the seeds of which were first sown in Bandung in 1955.

This historic forum, was the precursor to the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement that not only charted the way for Asia and Africa but also for the future of mankind as a whole. The non-aligned countries have since then adopted policies through which they have assiduously sought to promote and consolidate their hard-won independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and to the social and economic uplift of their peoples. These remain valid today as they did more than four decades ago.

Indonesia's commitment to its brothers and sisters in Africa over the past few years is reflected, among others, in Indonesia's support of African development during its chain-nanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, the convening in Indonesia of the Asia-Africa forum, our participation in such forums as the LJN-NADAF and support for the United Nations Special Initiative on Africa, as well the strong bilateral cooperation that Indonesia maintains throughout the continent. On the South-South Cooperation, Indonesia will convene a Summit level meeting on South-South cooperation, to be held in Jakarta next year. It is our hope that such a summit level meeting would result in a clear and determined path for the South into the 21st century, from which they can meet the challenges of globalization and emerge from the socioeconomic exclusion of the past.

Thank You, Mr. President.