President Ghani addressed the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Governments of the Non-Aligned Movement on Friday in Baku.
“Embracing and acting on the basis of cooperative advantage would enable us to strengthen our collective resilience,” he said.
The “tragedy” of 9/11 brought us new opportunities and partnerships in Afghanistan, Ghani mentioned, adding that “We will always be grateful to our NATO and non-NATO partners that spared no efforts in blood and treasure to ensure our freedom and their security.”
A founding member of NAM and a staunch practitioner of neutrality for decades, “our lives were shattered by the Soviet invasion of Christmas 1979,” according to Ghani.
“We, the people and the government of Afghanistan, have been confronting a world in turmoil for 40 years, serving as a stage for one of the great tragedies of our times,” he said.
He said that the threat posed by the “transnational terrorist” networks is medium to long-term, requiring a different types of coordination and cooperation among governments.
“The scale and scope of the criminal economy, particularly the operation of the transnational criminal organizations, is a direct challenge to the wellbeing of the youth and welfare of families of all countries of the world,” he said.
“The fourth industrial revolution is likely to change the definition of work, wealth and wellbeing on an unprecedented scale,” Ghani said. “Rules of the game supposedly governing relations between sovereign states are far from firm. Non-alignment and positive neutrality, therefore, need to be redefined and invigorated to insure our collective interests and secure the future for all of our nations and citizens.”
