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Wednesday, June 18, 1997
Mubarak to the African Information Ministers’ 8th session President Hosni Mubarak yesterday applauded African media as "the honest voice of the continent that expresses the hopes of its peoples and nations" and added that the Africa media shoulders the responsibility of defending the continent' identity, preserving its culture and heritage, and defending its interests. Addressing the inaugural meeting of the African Information Ministers' 8th session, the President underscored the role of Pan-African media cooperation in enhancing comprehensive social, economic and cultural development. Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif read out the speech on behalf of President Mubarak. President Mubarak described the meeting as "another occasion that asserts the unity of interests and goals of African nations. "The rapid development in the field of media and communications urges us to work together in order to cope with what is new and to gain a suitable place for our continent on the map of the world," he said. The President held African information chiefs responsible for speeding up efforts to achieve media integration in the continent. "A close look to the conditions of the African continent and the steps of joint cooperation between our countries would give us a feeling of satisfaction to what we have achieved. But (this look) also reminds us at the same time that there is much left to be achieved," he told the African Information Ministers. The President's speech pinpointed problems and challenges that face the African nations in their bid to more coordination. "On the political arena, Africa has made a pioneering step with the establishment of the African Mechanism for Preventing and Solving Disputes ... We consider this (step) a great achievement and an indication that the African countries became convinced of the importance of containing and settling their disputes peacefully," he added. The President also highlighted the importance of the Cairo Declaration and the Plindeba Treaty Which declared the Continent free from nuclear weapons. "This important step reflected the wisdom of the leaders and the high level of awareness of our people and their search for peace, security and stability." The President said that Africa has set the example to be followed suit by other regions, especially the Middle East which he said should be freed from all weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons. Mubarak said that the race for construction and development has replaced the armament race world-wide. "We hope that the Middle East region would eventually join this international trend that seeks peace based on justice and recognition of all nations' legitimate rights." The Egyptian leader branded as "an important step" the signing of a reconciliation pact between two Somali leaders, Hussein Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohamed in Cairo. He said that the pact which crowned diplomatic efforts by Egypt and other African states, was a "positive development" towards achieving comprehensive national reconciliation in Somalia. He said that the task waiting the coming African generations was more difficult than their ancestors, who only sought political independence of their countries. The future task, he said, was to find out solutions to the economic and social problems that hinder the African continent's move to achieve better future for its peoples." "To this end, the Cairo Declaration for economic development in Africa was announced. We urge rapid implementation to the recommendations of this declaration in accordance with serious and effective mechanisms," he said. However, the challenges facing the African continent necessitate more efforts and coordination. "There are still many places of tension and political problems in many areas of the continent. We have to continue exerting efforts to reach acceptable solutions through peaceful negotiations, dialogue and mutual respect to the legitimate rights of all parties," he said. Pushing forward the wheel of development in Africa, he said, demands potent confrontation to Africa's chronic problems of desertification, draught, debts and refugees. The Egyptian leader's speech underscored the importance of creating an atmosphere of security and stability to reach an integrated economic development. "Security is the main gateway for stability and it is an essential condition for the success of development. In a related development, Sherif, who chaired the session, said after the first meeting that the President's speech would be regarded as a main document of the meetings. "The conference has considered the Egyptian paper as a document because it presents a futuristic vision to the African media in light of the new challenges facing Africa," he concluded. |
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