wfn.org | AACC congratulates President of the Federal Republic of Germany

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ALL AFRICA CONFERENCE OF CHURCHES
CONFERENCE DES EGLISES DE TOUTE L AFRIQUE

AACC congratulates President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Professor
Horst Köhler

www.aacc-ceta.org	Tel: 254 - 20 - 4441483, 4441338/9 · Fax: 254 - 20-
4443241, 4445835 · Email: secretariat@aacc-ceta.org

General Secretariat: Waiyaki Way, P.O. Box 14205 , 00800 Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya

Our Ref:

AACC congratulates President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Professor
Horst Köhler

The General Secretary of the AACC Rev. Dr. H. M. Dandala congratulates
President Prof. Horst Köhler on his strong call for Europe to walk in
partnership with Africa for the renewal of the continent of Africa.
President Köhler was speaking at the 50th anniversary celebration of the
German Society for Foreign Policy in Berlin on Friday, June 3, 2005.
President Köhler decried the folly of foreign policies that often seek to
serve internal political agendas of countries. Instead he called for
foreign policies that are anchored on value systems that prioritise the
human dignity of all people. He emphasised the need for each nation s
foreign policy to honour the needs of other nations, particularly the
developing nations. Focussing his speech on Africa, Prof. Köhler lamented
the state of poverty and the inadequate health care infrastructure that
characterises many African countries, affirmed NEPAD and called for a
greater commitment by Europe to this African inspired initiative, saying
that the problems Africa is dealing with are not Africa s problems, but the
problems of the world. Saluting NEPAD, he said: Some Africans are doing
their homework Are we doing ours for the success of NEPAD? The President
stressed the need to preserve the environment, citing the dangers that are
posed by climatic changes. In its response, he called for the world to
ensure that all people have access to clean water and clean air.

Referring to security, the President insisted that security should be more
than what we normally think of. It must be anchored on human security that
arises out of respect for human rights. In this regard he called for a
greater participation of the developed world in the resolution of the
Darfur crisis, and a more vigorous support of international institutions
like the African Union and its programmes. He supported the need for the
restructuring of the UN in order to give more nations effective
participation in its decisions and a vigorous support for the Millennium
Development Goals programme. Noting that some are prone to regard this
programme as merely another programme that will fail, he said, our task is
to ensure that it succeeds.

The General Secretary of the AACC who is visiting to Germany for
consultations with the German Churches was accompanied to the meeting by
the Rev. Dr.Volker Faigle of the EKD Liaison office with the German
government in Berlin. He congratulated the president for the strong call to
put human dignity  at the heart of international dialogue. He also
congratulated him for his lucid understanding of the value of African
inspired initiatives for the transformation of Africa.

President Köhler commented to the two church representatives that he will
continue to strive for these values to be upheld by the world.