Ｆｏｒ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ， Ｃｏｏｐｅｒａｔｉｏｎ ａｎｄ Ｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔ

The world today is plagued by frequent regional conflicts， local wars， soaring military expenditure， terrorism， unbalanced economic development， a widening wealth gap， deterioration of eco-environment， as well as interference in world affairs by hegemonism. All these have posed threats to human security. Stability and prosperity in Asia， Europe and the world at large are facing grave challenges. It is the right of all mankind to live in a peaceful， just， equal and prosperous world. We， the civil society and NGOs， have the responsibility and obligation to participate in building such a world.

It is undeniable that governments have played the leading role in decision-making in international affairs. However， it is also undeniable that the increasing need for the people’s participation in world affairs has become the trend of our time. Looking at the development of NGOs in the world and their participation in the affairs of the U. N.， we discover that the civil society and NGOs are playing a more and more important role in global policy-making， and popular opinion has a direct bearing on government policies. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has pointed out that “Peace and prosperity cannot be achieved without partnerships involving governments， international organizations， the business community and civil society. In today’s world， we depend on each other.”

In the present world， which lacks security and peace， we in the civil society and NGOs should take full advantage of our opportunities to carry out activities for world peace and development， voice the opinions of the people， give constructive suggestions to our governments and the United Nations.

What role should the civil society and NGOs play then? I would like to share with you some of my views and brief you on the efforts made by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to promote world peace and development.

1. Enhancing People-to-People Friendship

We have noticed that the conflicts in many places around the world have their own deep-seated political， economic and historical causes， but they have one feature in common， that is， the governments or peoples of these countries involved in the conflicts do not trust each other and harbour hostilities which are hard to dispel. Only by building the basic trust and friendship among peoples would it be possible to eliminate hostility and hatred. Now the international community is fighting against terrorism. We can build understanding and friendship among the peoples， win support and sympathy of the great majority and isolate the handful of terrorist forces and finally wipe out terrorism completely. There are many ways to enhance people’s friendship and mutual understanding， which are conducive to dialogue among different cultures and civilizations and help build mutual respect， tolerance， understanding and harmony among them. Thus， the seeds of peace will be sown and clashes between different civilizations will be prevented. When friendship， mutual trust and mutual respect are built among peoples， wars， hatred and terrorism will fade away， and peace and tranquility will prevail in the world.

2.Promoting International Cooperation

Friendship can only be reflected in cooperation. In international cooperation， the principles of equality， mutual benefit and mutual respect should be observed. Because of different historical backgrounds， educational levels， stages of economic development and degrees of openness， Europe and Asia are different in many ways. For the same reason， there is a great potential for cooperation between us. NGOs in Europe appeared on the international stage much earlier than those of the Asian countries. And they are more active than their Asian counterparts. In recent years， more and more NGOs have emerged in Asia including China. Their international exchanges are also increasing. But they lack experience in participating in world affairs and have few channels of communication. NGOs in Asia should step up their exchanges and cooperation with European NGOs， so as to learn from each other， and participate more extensively in international affairs. Europe is developed in economy and has rich experience in environmental protection and economic development. Cooperation between Asia and Europe in environmental protection and sustainable development has a bright future. Asian and European NGOs can promote cooperation in the fields of agriculture， science and technology， education and culture so as to draw upon the strength of each other and push common development.

3.Promoting Common Development

Development is a common aspiration of all peoples and the main road for the advance of humanity. Friendship and cooperation are for realizing development. Only by achieving common development of the whole world and all mankind can world peace and stability be guaranteed. No country， region or ethnic group should achieve its development by infringing upon the interests of other countries， regions or ethnic groups. Asian and European civil society should call on all countries to establish a fair and equitable order in international politics and economics， to improve the rule of law， and to make sure that the whole of mankind enjoys equal competition and equal rights. There is a relatively larger number of poor and backward population in Asia. Civil society and NGOs in Asia have the responsibility to change the poor and backward situation in their own countries and regions.

My country， China， is a developing country. There is imbalance in the development of different regions， poverty and inadequate education. Improvements have been made in China after 20 years of reform and opening up. In recent years our Association has undertaken many projects to help the poor regions of China and established a fund for this purpose. We have donated computers to the schools， launched training programs for high school English teachers and laid-off women workers reemployment， assisted foreign companies to build computer labs for poor schools， invited English teachers from overseas， etc. Making use of our wide social links， we have tried our best to do something substantial for the ordinary people.

In addition to the points mentioned above， in order to let the NGOs play a greater role I think we NGOs should: 1. build up our own capacity; 2. establish and improve the network among international civil society and NGOs so that we can communicate and exchange views smoothly; 3. publicize the aims of the U.N. and the Millennium Development Goals. Let more people take part in the activities， raise all world people’s awareness that they are “citizens of the world” and their sense of responsibility， and get more people to participate in and support the activities for world peace and development.

We wish to establish friendship and contacts with more Asian and European NGOs and civil societies， to enhance cooperation， promote development， and to make concerted efforts to achieve the aims and goals of the U.N.， world peace and development.