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| Enkhtsetseg Ochir, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations, Head of the Delegation to the XVI Ministerial Conference |
Bali, Indonesia, 26 May 2011
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me begin by expressing our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of Indonesia, the birth place of the historic Bandung Principles, for the excellent arrangements made for this conference and gracious hospitality extended to us. May I also join others in commending the able stewardship displayed by Egypt as Chair of the Movement.
We welcome into our midst the newest members of the Movement - the Republic of Fiji and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Mr. Chairman,
As we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of NAM my delegation wishes to pay a solemn tribute to its founders for their vision, leadership and dedication to establishing a peaceful, prosperous and equitable world. Over the past five decades the NAM has come to represent an influential political force coordinating the concerted efforts of its Member States in the face of global challenges. The Movement, albeit its ups and downs, has a remarkable record of accomplishments. It has played a key role as its Member States stood united on the issues of decolonisation, apartheid, the situation in the Middle East including the Question of Palestine, the maintenance of international peace and security, disarmament and others.
The values, principles and objectives of the Movement have stood the test of time remaining as relevant and enduring as ever. Mongolia shares the common vision for NAM’s future outlined in the Commemorative Declaration. We have been further inspired by the inaugural address by His Excellency Dr.Susilo Bambamg Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, sharing with us a new vision and approach for NAM in the 21st century to assert itself as a proactive force in advancing a culture of global peace and security, promoting democracy and good governance, and ensuring an equitable global prosperity.
Likewise, my delegation welcomes the clear articulation by H.E. Dr. Marty M. Natalegawa, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, of the specific ways and means to be vigorously pursued by the Movement in attaining the above goals. Multilateralism, partnership and engagement, greater responsiveness to the real needs and interests of the peoples should, indeed, guide our Movement as we continue our journey in this increasingly interdependent and rapidly changing world.
The Commemorative Declaration also emphasizes the critical need to enhance the role of the NAM so that it can help develop adequate and sustainable responses to multitude of complex challenges, both existing and emerging, be it poverty or natural disasters, inequality or conflicts, multiple crises of food, finance, energy or climate change.
Mr. Chairman,
Achieving the MDGs by 2015 and facilitating sustainable development in the face of interlinked global crises are an urgent priority that we all share. Hence, we ought to strengthen our cooperation on the development front, making it all the more important for NAM to expand cooperation and partnership, both South-South and North-South, and enhance its interaction with G-77 through the Joint Coordinating Committee.
Mongolia is proud to be contributing to South-South cooperation by promoting the interests of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs). It goes without saying that increased analytical capability is essential to evidence-based decision-making. With this in mind, Mongolia initiated setting up an International Think Tank of LLDCs. It was launched jointly by Mongolia’s Foreign Minister and the UN Secretary-General in Ulaanbaatar in 2009, followed by the conclusion of the Multilateral Agreement. The Think Tank will be operationalized, as soon as the Agreement enters into force and the Group agrees on further modalities. Mongolia signed the Agreement on 25 April last and encourages the other LLDCs - members of the Movement - to do so at their earliest opportunity.
Last April Mongolia hosted in cooperation with the ESCAP the first-ever High-level Policy Dialogue of Asia-Pacific landlocked developing countries. The meeting adopted an action-oriented Ulaanbaatar Declaration, which identified concrete ways to facilitate the implementation of the Almaty Program of Action in the region.
Mr. Chairman,
Mongolia shares the Movement’s stance for a stronger United Nations. Revitalization of the General Assembly must be further pursued so that its decisions have more practical and meaningful impact on the lives of people. The role of the Economic and Social Council in global economic decision-making must be enhanced. The early reform of the Security Council aimed at making it more representative of the current world’s reality will certainly be a critical boost to reaffirming the central role of the UN in global governance. Mongolia stands for a just and equitable enlargement of the Security Council by increasing both its permanent and non-permanent seats.
Mr. Chairman,
The NAM has long-standing principled position that the establishment of NWFZs constitutes an important step towards strengthening nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. My delegation believes that the effectiveness of such zones could be further promoted by closer coordination and cooperation between them. There have already been two Conferences of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and Mongolia held in Mexico (2005) and New York (2010) respectively. At their Second Conference, the participants agreed to foster their cooperation to fully implement the principles and objectives of the treaties establishing the zones and exchange information in areas of mutual interest.
Mongolia has been pursuing the policy aimed at institutionalizing its NWFS. It is our hope that with the support and solidarity displayed by the Movement, we will be able to advance further along this road.
Mr. Chairman,
Through the Bali Commemorative Declaration and Final Document, the NAM Member States have reaffirmed their resolve to work collectively for the promotion of democracy as a universal value as the freely expressed will of the people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems. In this regard, I am pleased to inform this august body that Mongolia will be assuming the Chairmanship of the Community of Democracies from July this year until mid-2013. During our chairmanship, we intend to work together with the International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, the Bali Democracy Forum, the Asia-Pacific Democracy Partnership and other relevant forums.
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation views the Bali Final Document as a comprehensive reflection of our common positions on relevant international issues. I would like to commend the excellent manner in which the consultations were held both in New York and here in Bali. We are particularly pleased that my delegation’s proposals on several issues of common interest have once again enjoyed strong support of the Movement, including those related to attaining the objectives of the UN Literacy Decade, promoting democracy, improving the situation of rural women, advancing the interests of landlocked developing countries and Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would like to reiterate Mongolia’s firm commitment to the ideals that our Movement holds dear.
Source: Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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