Africa's Season of Hope: The Dawn of a New Africa-Asia Partnership

III. Closing Remarks

III Closing Remarks K. Kesavapany His Excellency President Thabo Mbeki; Deputy Prime Minister Professor S. Jayakumar, Chairman of the 26th Singapore Lecture; Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong; Ladies and Gentlemen: You will all agree with me that this afternoon has indeed been a remarkable experience. We expected no less, Mr President, Sir, as your reputation as an orator, a thinker, and a visionary has preceded you. We in Singapore also know of you as a proud son of Africa, one who has boldly demonstrated a vision for an Africa that will play a legitimate role in the international community. In particular, we are aware of your keen interest and determination in the battle against poverty not only for your people but also for the peoples of the world. You have seized on Africa’s renaissance and have so eloquently this afternoon called for a new era of Africa-Asia partnership. We are mindful that your call comes almost 50 years to the day when 29 newly independent countries of Asia and Africa met in Bandung and called for greater Asian-African solidarity at the height of the Cold War. Neither South Africa nor Singapore was at Bandung as we were not fully independent then and you were still under the shackles of© 2005 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 23© 2005 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore apartheid. You leave this evening for Indonesia to attend the AsianAfrican Summit marking the 50th Anniversary of Bandung. The symbolism is obvious. Your call for partnership comes at a better time than in 1955 as there is renewed international interest in Africa. I convey the sincere wishes of all of us here this afternoon for your pragmatic vision to bear fruit. It leaves me now to thank President Mbeki for his stirring message, Deputy Prime Minister Professor S. Jayakumar for chairing the session, and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong for his presence, and you, Ladies and Gentlemen, for supporting the Singapore Lecture. THABO MVUYELWA MBEKI Mr Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki has been the President of the Republic of South Africa since 14 June 1999. Prior to that, he was the Executive Deputy President in the South African Government from 1994. He was the Chairperson of the African Union from July 2002 to July 2003. Born on 18 June 1942, Mr Mbeki received his Master of Economics degree from the University of Sussex in 1966. In 1999, Rand Afrikaans University conferred him an Honorary Doctorate. In 2000, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the Glasgow Caledonian University. In the same year, he won the title of Newsmaker of the Year from the Pretoria Press Club. Mr Mbeki’s political involvement began in 1956 when he joined the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) while a student at Lovedale Institute. He was elected as Secretary of the African Students’ Association in December 1961. On the instructions of the African National Congress (ANC), he left South Africa in 1962 to study in southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Tanganyika (now Tanzania), and the United Kingdom. He continued with his political activities as a university student in the United Kingdom, mobilizing the international student community against apartheid. Between 1967 and 1970, he worked for the ANC office in London and underwent military training in the then Soviet Union. He served as Assistant Secretary to the Revolutionary Council of the ANC in Lusaka in 1971. He was among the first ANC leaders to have contact with exiled and visiting members of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) in Botswana. As a result of his contact and discussions with the BCM, some of the© 2005 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore 25© 2005 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore leading members of this organization found their way into the ranks of the ANC. The focus of his activities during this time was to consolidate the underground structures of the ANC and to mobilize the people inside South Africa. He engaged the Botswana Government in discussions to open an ANC office in that country. He left Botswana in 1974 and was sent to Swaziland as acting representative of the ANC. Mr Mbeki became a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC in 1975. He was sent to Nigeria in 1976 and returned to Lusaka in 1978, where he became the Political Secretary in the Office of the President of the ANC. In 1984–89, he was...